Fire Emblem: Path of Cheezyness
by FE Frog
Summary: What could possibly happen when a girl like me is sent to Tellius with a rubber chicken? In an adventure consisting of tacos, teddies, epic fails, sarcastic comments and more hilarious moments, it's amazing what one person can change. OC-insert
1. Enter Me

**Edit:** _No, I'm not trying to convince you to read on... Okay, maybe I am, but this chapter (and the 2 or 3 after) were written a LONG time ago. My writing style has changed, and if it's the hyper-ness and bad writing that's turning you off, maybe try to read on because it get's a lot better, I swear, and as I writer, I've grown up since this._

FE Frog: Wow! I got another story up! YAAAAAAAAAAY! This one, though, isn;t about Mia continuously harassing Shinon, although there may be some of that anyway. But, this time. it's me going into the game! YAAAAAAAAAY! We all know how bad we all felt for Shinon, what about everyone else? This isn't based on some OC. No, far from it.

This is based on me. Duh, duh, duh, duuuuuuuuuh...

Disclaimer: I do not own it and... What the hell. If I did, Shinon and ia would have had a kid even of they didn't get an A level. And Makalov wouldn't exist. Too ugly.

* * *

9:00. Time for bed! For God's sake, I was (almost) 14! Why were my parents evil enough to make me go to bed at this time every night?

"Meia!" My mom shouted down the stairs.

"Coming!" I shouted back up. I will come, after I save.

The funky music played, and the big, blue lettering appeared. _Player Phase_. Yes, this was…. FIRE EMBELEM PATH'O RADIANCE! Played the Radiant Dawn. It was much better, but I felt like playing this game.

I quickly saved and turned the Wii off. I jumped up stairs, two steps at a time, and climbed into bed. Tomorrow. Another day of school. Joy! Ugh…

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_! Oh crap, the stupid alarm. I pulled off my covers, only to be awakened by a cool breeze. Damnit! I left my window open! Oh well. I pulled on a sweater and some jeans and went downstairs to eat breakfast.

"Good morning!" My dad said from the kitchen. He was most likely making a sandwich. I'll just throw it out at school and buy something anyway, so why was he always making the sandwiches in the morning? Whatever.

I checked the calendar. 9 days 'till my birthday! My brain did a happy dance, since I was too tired to. I spun around and grabbed the Rice Crispies off the counter, took a bowl and spoon from the cupboard and got the milk out of the fridge. I ate quickly and left, walking towards the bus stop.

(In school)

"Hey Meia." I turned to see Alexis to my right. I continued unpacking books into my locker.

"Hi Alexis." I said, closing the lock, "Wanna go to the library? Maybe we could go at lunch too."

She shrugged and we went.

(Now in Homeroom)

James and Brett were talking about something. I had no idea what. How would I? All I recognized was 'toast'… **A/N No, actually, they were once. Something about the toast song.**

The teacher shouted at them, but the bell had already rung and we were off for gym.

I made my way down the hall to my locker. I dialed the numbers quickly and pulled the lock off, revealing my extremely messy locker. I sighed. I guess I'll have to clean it tomorrow when I get off the bus.

"Hey! Meia!" I turned to see Cecilia waving for me to come. I grabbed my neon green gym bag and left.

The gym was rather empty. Only our class was in there, unlike normal days where 5 classes are packed into the gym.

This random old dude was standing in the center, over the snout of the giant husky head that was printed onto the floor. My school was obsessed with huskies, no joke.

There were a bunch of things lined up against the far wall. 3 rubber chickens were there too…

"Please have a seat!" Mr. G shouted. The other gym teachers were there too, but not their classes. Strange.

The random dude clapped his hands. "Does everyone know how to play tag?"

What did he think we were? Of course we all knew how to play tag. Then he asked what it means to tag somebody. Cheez this guy is weird. (Okay, I say Cheez a lot, so bear with me here! Since this is not an OC and is actually based on me, not my imagination. This is what I would most likely do if I was here. And this is based on my school.)

"We are going to play a tag game. Toilet tag!"

OMG… This guy was pathetic.

So we played toilet tag for like a minute. Seriously. Then he took out the rubber chickens, gave one to me, one to Brent, and one to Rochelle.

He explained the rules of Chicken Run (that's an awesome movie, BTW) And we were off.

_**BOOM!**_

There were these random green lights everywhere and… I was zipped away to some random place I don't even cheezing know where it is!

I got up off the ground, still holding my rubber chicken…

I was in a nice little meadow! I started thinking of sheep. Dunno why. I think of weird things at weird times.

I started walking around, rubber chicken still in hand. It was pretty all around. The little purple flowers over to my right, more orange flowers to my left, and this weird, blue haired due behind me. I stopped. Weird, blue-haired dude behind me? The couldn't be good. I heard some more footsteps.

"Boss! Look at that!"

I paled. Not good, not good, not good!

"Hey, little girl!"

Little girl? LITTLE GIRL? Oh, cheez…

I spun around, breathing heavily, "I'M NOT A LITTLE GIRL!" My breathing went still for a moment. I just yelled at him… Greil, and Boyd, and Ike, and little Mist!

"Dad! Look at her! She's dressed rather… strangely…. But those clothes are new!" Mist yelled. Yeah right. New from last year maybe? "She must be a noble or something. Look at the material!" She touched my shirt. A little strange for some one who wears a skirt that's too short for her.

"It's called synthetic." I grunted. Quality alright.

"Where are you from." The biggest of them all asked.

I looked up at him. Greil could beat me up alive. Wait… If I stay with them I could prevent Greil from dying! I could do so much! Maybe it'll mess the plot up though…. I smiled. "Well I guess you could say I'm a noble. I am somehow related to King Henry 8th. Sad, but I have blue blood at the very least!" No, seriously. Sadly, I am. Even in real life.

"Hmph. Nobles." Boyd seemed to grunt. He was actually a lot shorter than I thought him to be. Same with Ike.

"What country? Crimea, Daien, Begnion?"

"Uh…. Canada?"

"You mean there are countries beyond Tellius?" Mist exclaimed.

"Not really. I just… it's a long story."

Greil smiled, "We've got quite a ways off before getting to the fort. Enlighten us."

I shook my head, "You wouldn't believe me, just like you won't believe Elincia…." I covered my mouth.

"Elincia?" Ike asked.

My hand slipped, "Some say your future love interest…" I covered my mouth with both hands this time.

Boyd elbowed Ike in the arm playfully.

Ok. This time I had to say something, "Stop it Boyd. If you get an A level support with Mist you end up marrying her! So I wouldn't be talking if I were you!"

Mist's face went green and Boyd blushed.

"What's a support?" Ike asked dumbly. Good thing he has Soren around… Later.

"You still haven't answered my initial question." Greil said. Man, he's boring.

"I already told you, though. Canada! And do you mind. When we get back to your 'fort' can I have some new clothes? These ones are all sweaty and…" I just remembered my rubber chicken. Better save that for later. If this is the very beginning, I could use it on Shinon. Taking Mia's place will be soooo much more fun…

* * *

FE Frog: Sooooooo...? Interested. Trust me. It'll get a lot better. And out frined Mr. Rubber Chicken will scare the crap out of Shinon! YAAAAAAAAAY! And I'll be wearing some sexy midevil stuff. Isn't that awesome? I still don't know if I'll pair myself up with anyone, but my own comments will be in there. I can't wait until our birdie friends come in!

Review! I will not post unless you do, then again I never go by my own rules. A new chapter may be posted soon.


	2. Awkward Much

FE Frog: No more dreaded bad grammar and spelling mistakes! if there are any, blame my beta. Yeah! I got a beta! Ain't it awesome? Well... This chapter, i hope, is better than the last one. I took some peoples advice though, and added how i missed home. I know this is humor and all, but as the 'general' bit might say) There are alot of other genres. I just like humor (and romance) but this story wouldn't be so great with romance. At least not for myself. If you're a beta, the awesomes tthing is color coding! That's what mine did! YAAAAAAAAAAY! Sorry. I'm just super hyper on halloween candy.  
Anyway...

Disclaimer: What the hell... This site is meant for people taking games and stuff and writing stuff on it. You people know I don't own it... So yeah.

Enjoy! And...  
Thanks go to...  
Twilight Princess6 for being my awesome Beta (and oddly, my older twin. Don't ask.)  
Uh... And my reviewers! I don't remember all of you. So yeah!

Enjoy!

* * *

"So…" I said as the 'fort' came into view. "This is it?"

"Yes." The ever so boring commander said proudly.

I did a double take, for probably the fourth time. "Wow."

Mist took off, almost knocking me over along the way.

Once I regained my balance, and everyone had gone to the fort already, I followed. _Cheez. _Yeah, the place was better looking in the game. Of course it was big, but I guess being used to having buildings tower over you gets to you. It just made me notice how I missed home already. And nine days before my birthday! As much fun harassing Shinon will be, why now? Why ever?

I entered the small courtyard that connected the several buildings strewn all over the place behind the thick, wooden wall. At one end was what seemed to be the practice courts. In the distance, a big, fat looking guy was holding a spear. He had blonde hair and the heavy blue armor of a knight. That could only mean one thing.

I entered the small courtyard that connected the several buildings strewn all over the place behind the thick, wooden wall. At one end was hat seemed to be the practice courts. In the distance, a big, fat looking guy was waving a spear. He was blonde and was wearing the heavy blue armor of a knight. That could only mean one thing…

I heard someone snicker and shout, "Hey, Gatrie! look over there!" Confirming my guess.

The knight turned towards me and smirked, "Awww! Greil must've picked up some little kid from the forest!"

Why did everyone call me that? I hated being called a little kid! **A/N **(Mostly because my dentists still treat me like a 3 year-old. My doc's just weird. When I was just 12, she asked me if I had been involved in any sexual intercourse lately. Of course I said… no. Why the hell would a 12 year old be sleeping with some dude older (or possibly younger) than her? Think people!)

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Just had to get that bit out.

I just stared at the ripped guy in front of me. This would have been much more convenient if I was at least 17!

"Oh!" Mist said, noticing Gatrie and running up to me. "This is…" I could see she was trying to think of my name. Maybe medieval people were stupid.

"My name is Meia." I said plainly.

"Meia! This is Meia!" she squeezed my arm for absolutely no reason whatsoever, "We found her in the forest."

"I told you, Shinon!"

My eyes shot open. A small, yet deviously evil smile spread across my face. I've read that list, hell, I was the one who put it to use with Mia! Now it was _my_ turn, and oh, they were going to regret having ever pulled me into their world. While writing it, I'd thought of scenarios for more people, such as Naesala, who obviously wouldn't be that hard to annoy. And Tibarn… I just thought of one now!

I hid the chicken I had been holding behind my back, even if nobody had really noticed it yet. At least, no one had questioned me about it.

"Soooooo, Mist, could you maybe show me around?" I asked. I did have to plan this all out. I couldn't go around annoying the shit out of people without a plan.

My feet were now throbbing, not only had I walked a long way with Greail, Ike, Boud and Mist, but mist had just finished my tour of the fort.

"Have you ever thought of being a tour guide?" I sighed as I sat on a bench in the mess hall.

"A what?" she asked me.

I shook my head. Right, I was… half in the past, half in a whole different world! "Never mind, and," I looked down at the words on my shirt. Or rather, big bold words "Huskies" was written right over my front, above said "Sacred Heart", while the side just had a husky logo. I then looked at the rubber chicken.

Before I could finish what I was saying, Mist cut in, "What's that thing you have there?"

My eyes narrowed into a more bored expression, "You didn't notice the skinny frickin' chickin' I had in my hand the whole entire time?"

"You had that the whole time?"

I slapped my forehead, "No! Because a rubber chicken is definitely going to pop out of nowhere and land in my hand!"

"It did! I don't think even Soren can do that!"

These people needed to look up the word _sarcasm_.

"Why do I even bother…" I turned my head back to the short-haired girl, "Can I maybe have a different change of clothes?"

Her face lightened. Maybe the fact that I had finally said something that she understood! "Of course! Come with me!" And with that, we left.

Okay… Not quite what I expected…

I looked into the mirror at the _thing_ Mist had pulled out. It was a dress… in a way, just waaaaaay to short. Okay, well at least a little longer than Mist's. Maybe half an inch longer? Other than that fact, it was okay. It was a soft shade of green, and the fabric felt like the finest cotton. She had also given me a pair of boots that went up to my knees. They were a darker green, but still very comfortable. I guess it was nice. Not something I'd wear to school, noo duh.

"It looks very nice on you!" Mist giggled. She had just finished brushing my dirty-blonde hair that went to about mid-back, and was now pulling it back into a ponytail with a strand of velvet.

"Much better than before, I must say." I said. I took one more glance into the mirror and smiled. **A/N **(If you're wondering, and are too lazy to read my profile [I don't blame you. The things really long] then, I look like Susan Pevensie or Anna Poppelwell, from the new version of the Chronicles of Narnia. At least, that's what my friend says. I'm not using clothing designs from there because the clothes in FE are much more exuberant, which means totally different designs.)

"It looks perfect on you!" Mist said jubilantly.

I smiled, in a worried way. Definitely my style, because in _my_ world, I wear a short skirt that's almost halfway up my thighs… Definitely…

Someone knocked on the door.

Mist ran over and opened it, "Oh, hi, Ike!"

My eyes widened. _Craaaaaaaaaap!_ I dove into Mist's bed, covering myself with the blankets.

"Are you two ready?" he said, giving the lump a strange look.

"Yeah, why?"

"Dinner is too."

He closed the door behind him as he left.

I opened my eyes as the soft covers were yanked off my back.

"Meia! Dinner's ready!" Mist yelled.

I winced at the volume of her voice and sat up, "God, you sound like my mother!"

Mist shrugged and bounced away. She was a lot more hyper-ish than I would have thought. Then again, everyone was different. It was… strange.

I got out of the bed, and looked into the mirror one last time before I left. This was going to be interesting.

I was humming as I went downstairs and eventually found my way to the mess hall. What was I humming you ask? (I doubt you were even going to ask that anyway) I was humming a random German song "Alle Meine Entchen"

I basically found my way by following the voices. One voice in particular.

"And this girl!"

My head drooped. At least some people never changed.

I walked into the room, only to be greeted by silence.

Mist stood up, "Sit with me! Sit with ME!" she yelled, waving her hand frantically.

I slowly walked to the other side of the rather large room, trying to avoid everyone's gazes.

Mist got off the bench, "I'll get you some food." She turned and began to leave, but turned back for a split second, "Sit down and talk with the others while I get it." and then she left.

I slowly turned my head to the others, who were staring at me strangely. I raised my hand and wiggled my fingers slightly, "Hi…"

Sitting at this particular table was Ike, Rolf, Rhys and Boyd. All the younglings! Yay…

A few minutes later, Mist came back with a plate full of food, "I'm back!" she yelled.

I looked up at her as she put my plate down in front of me. "Thanks." I muttered.

Mist sat down beside me, "So… You never told us about yourself."

"Uh… What is there to tell?"

Mist just gave me one of those you've-got-to-be-kidding-me looks.

"Well. I told you my name already." I thought. Obviously I had left out a lot! "I'm turning fourteen in… I think around eight or nine days."

"So you're a year older than us!" Rolf exclaimed, "We just turned 13 this year."

I nodded, "I also come from a country… Very far away."

Now Boyd spoke, "Begnion? Daien?"

This time I shook my head, "You've probably never heard of it." I picked up my fork and cut of a piece of meat. It was actually pretty good.

"You like it?" Mist asked, "Oscar is such a great cook!"

"Yes he is." I looked up at Boyd and Ike, "So, what about you guys?"

"I'm Ike." He said. Well, that was pretty obvious, "I don't know if you've noticed, but she's my sister." He pointed at Mist, "I'm 17, 18 in a few months."

Boyd smiled, "Well, you already know who I am. Oscar and Rolf are my brothers! I'm 19."

I nodded, again, "Cool." Day 1… So far so good.

* * *

FE Frog: The ages... They're just what I thouhgt. I'll put ages I'm sure of too. like how Janaff is over 110... Oscar is 24 in this game... And to my surprise, Shinon's already 27 here! I'll look up more later if I must.

So. you knwo the drill. R&R!

And to all My 51 Ways fans. i'm terribly sorry for the extra long delay! I don't have many entries to the contest... So I can't exactly choose! I have one that I'm working on for the contest so far. His/Hers is really good, so I thought I might give it a shot! Anyway. I need loyal fans for this one... And the next chapter should be up... As soon as I have it done! But then... My beta takes about 3 days to edit so... GO COLOR CODING!

WARNING: SUGAR HIGH

Meh. Stupid candy. BYE PEEPS!


	3. Taco Night

FE Frog: YAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Finally! Anyway. Once again, Mist may be a little OOC, but that's only cause she's an annoying little BRAT! Hopefully, she gets better as we go along. Hopefully. Well, like everyone says...

READ AND REVIEW! I hate it when you don't! It takes me longer to update when you don't. Anyway. Hope you like Tacos!

Disclaimer: This is the last one I'll write. I DO NOOOOOOT OWN FE 9, 10, OR ANY OTHER ONE YOU CAN THINK OF! To be honest, I don't own much as is...

* * *

I was lying in bed. My stomach was full, and I was tired. I couldn't sleep, despite how much my body wanted -and needed- too. Images of my parents, my friends, and my sister flashed through my mind. I missed them already. I felt bad for all those times I was –to be blunt- a bitch to my sister. I felt bad. Now, they weren't there. They didn't exist. I wasn't in Canada. I wasn't on _my_ Earth. I was probably in a whole different dimension! I was in a video game, a freakin' video game (cause I ain't going to much farther into the language). All those years of going to German school, a waste, because no one here knew that language existed. Wait. I'm here, homesick, and all I can think about is Saturday school?! I slapped my head.

"Meia?" someone whispered.

Oh yeah, I forgot I was sharing a room with Mist. "Yeah?"

"You're still awake?"

I looked back up at the ceiling, "Yeah." I closed my eyes, "I miss them all. I miss my mom, my dad, even my little sister!"

"Did they die, or something?"

"No."

Mist seemed to sigh, "Then what happened?"

I closed my eyes, "It's… complicated."

"Oh… Well… Good night." She said. I heard the shuffle of blankets as the younger girl settled back into her bed to sleep.

I took a deep breath and settled into my own bed. Soon enough, I found myself in dreamland…Which wasn't quite what I would have liked.

I found myself among the all too well known (at least to me) characters from the Inheritance Cycle… Something that had been happening a little too much lately. **A/N **(Although, I'm sure you people won't really want to hear about this and my fantasies with the actor who plays Murtagh in the Movie… My friends find it rather scary.)

I woke with a start. I wasn't used to these firm cots they had here.

I turned my head in the direction of Mist's cot, only to find it empty.

I quickly jumped out of bed and ransacked the stack of clothes Mist had given me to wear until I actually found something somewhat decent. It wasn't a dress; it was actually a pair of brown, most likely leather, pants, and a large… (What color would suit me? Hmmm….) Ugh. It was white. Oh well. I shrugged and pulled it on after taking off my semi-pajamas.

As I stumbled downstairs, I found it was also eerily quiet here too. No shouting, talking, and otherwise human-made sounds were emanating from the mess hall.

"Humph. No wonder." I grunted as I walked in, "Nobody's here!"

But then I heard a gasp-like sound from another entrance. Mist ran out, a big grin plastered to her face, "You're awake!"

I pulled my hands away from my ears, "I certainly am now!" I looked around, "Where is everyone?"

Mist's smile widened (if even possible), "Titania, Boyd and Oscar took Ike out on his first mission. Dad, Shinon and Gatrie are handling something else. Rolf's outside training."

I suppressed a laugh, making an amused, grunting sound instead, "Training with what?"

The younger girl's eyes widened, "I wasn't supposed to tell you anything…"

I just waved it off, "Don't worry. I already know _everything_."

Mist looked at me doubtfully, "What are we having for dinner?"

"Slop."

The little kid just stared at me, "That's _incredibly_ nice of you to say that about MY cooking."

"Hey, sister, you want gourmet? Make Tacos! I've been craving those for a _loooong_ time." I said. The thought of the meaty goodness made my mouth water.

"Tacos? How do you make those?"

I snapped out of my Taco filled dream land and stared at her. "Uh……. Um….. Something with corn."

"Ew,"she said, wrinkling her nose

"No! Not at all! You take tortilla-like things and fill it with meat, preferably ground beef, then stuff it with shredded cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes…" And my list went on and on. The whole time, Mist just gave me the most confused look. I stopped, then said, "Do you have meat, corn and flour?"

She nodded.

"Then follow my instructions."

Dinner was…. Well, it wasn't a disaster. It just took a couple… test runs to find the perfect Taco-like shell. Then we cooked some ground beef… a _lot_ of ground beef, cut up lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and then we shredded cheese and all that. Enough for the whole company.

Oscar, of course, supervised and helped us… a lot.

When dinner was ready, everyone came in, looking at the strange taco shells on their plates. One each and a plate full of more for extras. We had made enough so that everybody could have one with some leftovers for seconds (or fifths in Ike's case).

"What is this?" Boyd, who was of course, was first to ask.

"Tacos!" Mist and I exclaimed.

Everyone looked up at us.

"What are… _Tacos_." Gatrie asked in his dumbest voice yet. I couldn't blame him this time. Tacos were Mexican, and obviously, they didn't have Mexicans here. They had Germans! Well… One at least (me).

I sat down and picked up my taco shell. Did full grown… almost at least for some people's case… Well, did these Neanderthals really need a tutorial on how to stuff a taco? Did full grown… or almost full grown in some cases… people really need lessons on how to stuff a taco? I felt like I was eating with Neanderthals.

I took the spoon from the beef and slopped it into my shell, "First, you need to create a base." A then Next I moved to the salad lettuce it's lettuce until you mix a bunch of crap in with it, _then _it's a salad, department. I filled my taco with light layers of lettuce, then tomato, then pepper and to top off at the salads, onions. tomato, pepper, and onion to top it off. Then I moved towards the dips… er… dip and cheeses. I scooped some in, completing my taco, "And that's all there is to it! Traditional Mexican style dinner!" I exclaimed.

I wasn't surprised at by all the strange looks they gave me at the word 'Mexican'. I continued smiling until people began to make they're tacos.

"I got here first, twerp!" I heard the all too familiar (now at least) voice of Boyd. I walked over to see him trying to yank the beef-spoon from little Rolfie.

"Boyd…" I warned. He immediately let go, sending little Rolf spiraling back. Rolf crushed his taco shell and began to whimper.

"M-my taco!" he cried.

I shook my head before pointing to the plate of about… 50-60 extra taco shells?

Rolf bounced back up and ran to the plate.

I sighed and went to sit down and enjoy my own work of art. It was good… until it cracked and spilled all over my hand, "Crap…" I muttered before scooping all the sour cream back into the shell.

"Good job."

I dropped the taco, shattering the shell while it's contents splattered all over the plate.

"And even better."

I looked back to see Ike chuckling at my little mess.

"Well. I heard you had your first mission. Thought I might reward you." I winked at him.

Ike smiled (HOLY SHIT! HE SMILED!) What, WHAT!!! He… he smiled. Whoa, I tried to picture it and my brain kind of lit on fire… oh what the hell is wrong with me, just ignore this. and sat down in the chair next to me, "Thanks."

"No. Actually, I was just craving tacos. Where I come from, you buy the shells from the store. Since here, you people obviously have never heard of Mexico, there are no tacos."

I began took to clean up some pieces of my shattered taco and began by scooping up the innards like salsa and nachos. Maybe tomorrow night's meal!

"Nice." He ate some of his taco in silence before speaking up again, "What's it like… Where you come from?"

I stopped. Not quite the question I would have liked to answer over Mexican. What was I supposed to say? 'You guys are all on a disk that people like to play? A video game?' I looked up into his freakishly blue eyes. Luckily, everyone was normal with the eyes, else had normal eyes, except Rhys. Red eyes just make him look evil up close. He's going to suck out your soul!!! …right.

"Um…" I swallowed hard on my taco. This was going to be interesting, "You mean… in Canada?"

"Whatever that place is which you come from." He said. Greil's right, not much etiquette at all. It may not _read_ rude, but it sure sounded that way.

I looked down at the floor, "Different."

"Hey, Meia!" I winced. Guess who?

I looked up at Ike who almost laughed, "Is she always _this_ annoying?"\

"More than you would think."

"I never thought her to be this… _peppy_."

His eyebrows creased. Obviously my statement confused him and his little head.

"There you are!" Mist grabbed my arm, "Everyone loves the tacos!"

"Of course they do, Mist." I said; strain obvious in my voice… to most people, "Now… _PLEASE_ let go Mist!"

She did, thankfully. She smiled her wide smile, "Thank you so much!" instead of cutting off blood circulation to my arm, she decided it more appropriate to cut off the blood from my _whole_ BODY!

"Mist… Can't…. BREATHE!" I managed. I gasped as she let go.

Her smile softened to a sweet smile, "I'm so glad we found you. You're probably one of the best things to happen to this place!"

I felt like crying. A character from one of my favorite games (although she was definitely not one of my favorite characters) was telling me I was making the game better.

Obviously, Day 2… Taco Night… Even better!

* * *

FE Frog: Love it? Hate it? REVIEW ANYWAY! Constructive critisms only. Flames..... I don't want my house to burn down, so yeah. BYE! And revieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewww


	4. Hemophobia and Meiaphobia

FE Frog: Yaay! I finally posted up again! My beta can't beta me anymore, so I'm doing it myself! There may be a change in some things, so... yeah. As title of chapter suggests, yes, I'm hemophobic (afraid of blood) but only when it's another human being. Like... i don't know any examples. Just, I won't faint (sadly) but I'll only want to puke. And, as title also suggests, annoying comes into play. I did promise some SHinon-'love' with the rubber chicken, so that also comes in! He may be a little OOC... Only when he's asleep. Cheez, did I ever have fun writing that! Anyway... I'll let you read now.

And you guys do know I don't own this, rigth? Good.

* * *

A few days past. To be specific, 5. It was two days before my birthday… On Earth.

I woke up, for starters. Nothing irregular there. But… Mist wasn't sitting on her bed, waiting for me to wake up as usual. For the past 4 days, 'I'd' wake up, and then she would… _wake me up_.

I got dressed and went downstairs. On the way, I passed Boyd.

"Have you seen Rolf around?" he asked me, before I had a chance to ask him my question.

"No. I was about to ask you if you'd seen Mist." My shoulders dropped as I realized what was happening, "Shit." It was chapter two. With the revenge of the bandits' thing, this included kidnapping innocent little kiddies.

"What's wrong?"

I opened my mouth, but Rhys (?) burst in screaming, "MIST AND ROLF HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED!"

Who knew such a frail guy could get so worked up? It seemed as though everything was opposite now that I entered.

I sighed, "I knew it. They were out picking flowers or something."

Ike charged in, "Mist?! We have to help them!"

"No duh. But I wouldn't think that's such a great idea…" I thought, "Did Titania leave?"

Rhys nodded.

"Good. Then we wait."

Ike gave me the are-you-insane?! look and I rolled my eyes. He shook his head, "If we wait, they could be in serious trouble."

"If we don't, you guys could be! Hasn't it occurred to you that Titania _may_ just be getting reinforcements or something?" I asked, as if they were stupid. In a sense, they were.

Oscar joined in, "But if we do wait, they could get hurt. If we go, the reinforcements would be our backup."

"Sure! You guys go ahead." I leaned against the railing pole at the foot of the stairs, "I'll just watch as you 4 get told off by the boss."

Rhys shuffled his feet and muttered something like, "Titania _did_ ask us to wait…"

Everyone stared at him.

Boyd chuckled, "Hey, Meia! Since you seem to know everything, maybe you could come along and tell us whether we'll win or not? Give us some pointers."

"I'd be glad to, but you see, I got yelled at from my Mom enough back home, I'd rather not get yelled at by a male version that's just 2 times as big. And plus, Greil's got an axe." I sat on the first step and waved, "Have a nice trip!"

-oOo-

I don't know how I ended up on the back of Oscar's horse. They managed to get me to follow them into the deep, dark forests of battle. The idiots! First off, they didn't listen to me and my warnings. Second off, they bring a totally, well… semi-totally, inexperienced combatant with them! I sighed as we reached the fork in the road.

"Great." Boyd huffed, "A split in the road!"

"Take the left fork." I groaned.

"How'd you know the bandit stronghold was that way?" Oscar asked from in front of me.

I sighed again. This was going to be a loooooooooooooong day. I looked down at Ike and Boyd's waiting expressions, "What? I just know!"

The younger boy's shook it off and we continued on our way.

"So…… Why did you bring me again? If you haven't noticed. I don't use weapons!" I complained as Oscar's horse bumped me up and down along the rough road.

"Neither does Rhys, and we're used to protecting him. You can just stand on the sides." Ike called back.

I sighed, "But…"

"Hello?!" Someone called in the distance. Great…. We're here.

Ike tensed, Boyd followed and Oscar's horse took a step back in surprise.

"They're waiting for us." Boyd whispered.

"Good one! Since they were, why are we whispering?" I asked sarcastically. I tended to do that a lot.

"Because, it gives us the element if surprise."

I laughed, "Not with you around, loud-mouth."

I could feel the horse shake as Oscar suppressed a laugh.

Boyd gave me a dirty look before we continued in. Me? I just smiled to myself. At least something good came out of this little…. Excursion.

We made it to the bandit hideout. One of the brutes was standing on a large rock, watching for anyone. They expected us, or at least someone along those lines. That much was obvious.

"Why do you drag me into these kinds of things?!" I whined as we neared.

"Shut your trap!" Boyd snapped.

I just rolled my eyes and slouched in the saddle.

Okay. We were now 50 feet away from the small rock the bandit was standing on, and he hadn't seen us yet. It was only when Ike stupidly stepped on a rather large stick that he realized we were even there. **A/N: Just so you know. Script is a little fuzzy. 1. Haven't played for awhile. 2. New character means somewhat new quotes.**

"Ha! So ye DID come!" the bandit laughed in a slightly slurred voice. Maybe he had been drinking earlier…

I rolled my eyes.

"Where's yer red-headed friend?" the bandit asked, wiping his mouth. Cause god knows how much he spat as he talked in his messed up voice.

"She didn't come with us." Ike said, in a more boring voice than his father could ever hope to conjure up. Like father, like the better at it son!

The bandit wiped his nose with the back of his axe, "Why would she send a bunch of litter (supposed to be spelled like that. Little.) kids? Hmmm?"

I closed my eyes, this guy was drunk, ugly, stupid and nasty! It's called _Kleenex!_

The bandit raised his axe without further explanation and a whole other bunch came out of the bushes.

"Great… I told you this wasn't a great idea." I sighed, "But as long as he's the only one that needs to see a doctor, I'm sure it won't be too bad."

Ike looked up, "You should stay with Rhys. He'll be safe behind us, and that means you will too. He can heal you if you DO happen to get hurt."

I looked at him with the biggest, innocent eyes I could muster, "Now, you won't actually let them hurt me, will you?"

"We'll try not to." And with that, Oscar shoved me off his horse and those three were off.

I fell into the brambles, flat on my bottom. "Ow…"

"You okay?" the priest asked, offering a hand. Like he was strong enough to actually help me up…

"Definitely. Cause being shoved off a horse by someone who's _supposed_ to be gentle is perfectly okay…" I rubbed my butt, "That actually hurt."

-oOo-

Several minutes later…

"You feeling alright, Rhys?" I asked. The guy was shivering, his mouth twisted into the obvious curl of fear.

"O-Of c-course I-I a-am." He stuttered.

"Sick?"

"N-No…"

"Scared?"

"Very much so."

I nodded, "They won't let you get killed. At least… I never tried for them to get you killed. You end up being such a powerful unit if worked on."

Rhys gave me the strangest of looks.

"Never mind."

-oOo-

I watched. It was more fun to actually control the game, rather than have Rhys hyperventilate next to me.

"Get over it, Rhys. Obviously, you've been sick too long." I sighed. His only answer was more heavy breathing.

It only got worse when Boyd came over with a big gash in his arm. Even I shuddered. You see, I'm no good with war. I'm, literally, hemophobic, at least to human blood. I swear, I can watch a dissection (on a movie about animals…), but can't come to look at anyone's blood but my own.

"Is something wrong Rhys?" Boyd asked, totally unperturbed by his bloody arm.

I looked like I was about to hurl. Rhys somehow overcame that feeling and healed Boyd's arm.

"You okay, Meia?" Rhys chuckled.

I took a deep breath, "I'll make it through. What about you? You looked pretty awful yourself a few seconds ago."

He shrugged, "I'm fine now."

"Is that some kind of priest thing? One moment afraid of your own shadow, the next you're as fit as a fiddle?" I asked, trying my best to avoid eye contact with the rest of the battle.

Oscar rode up; his horse's leg was bleeding heavily, while Oscar's own was cut. He was panting heavily.

I turned away again while Rhys quickly healed him up.

A few moments later, I felt a tap on my shoulder, "It's okay. He's gone."

I turned my head to see Rhys all happy as can be. I smiled too, but that only lasted until I saw a flash of red hair in the bushes.

"Rhys? Ike? Boyd? Oscar?!" It was Titania, "I thought I asked you boys to stay by the fort!" She looked around and spotted me by Rhys, "Meia?! Why are you here?"

My eyes widened in horror, "I… They asked me too!"

Titania shook her head, her mane of crimson hair swooshing around, "There's nothing I can do about it now."

-oOo-

The last bandit was down. It was enough blood to last me a life time! But, somehow, I made it through.

"You okay, Meia?" Oscar asked after Ike slew the last bandit, "You look a little pale."

I looked up at him, "Ya think?"

Ike called.

Oscar quickly looked back, "Sounds like we're ready to save them." He took off, me following behind on shaky legs.

Another icky looking bandit was by the shack, Rolf and Mist by his side.

"Let them go." Ike said sternly.

The bandit laughed, "Drop yer weapons and I'll think about it!"

I rolled my eyes. No point in telling them what will happen. As long as Shinon stays true to the plot line.

Everyone dropped their weapons.

"Now that yer out of the way, I'll start with the greenie!"

I bit my finger, trying _so_ hard not to laugh.

"Rolf!" Everyone yelled, but it was too late… For the bandit.

Rolf collapsed to the ground.

"Is he…?" Boyd started, but didn't finish.

Mist smiled, "Nope! He just fainted."

Ike looked around, "But who shot it?"

"Who else could make a shot like that, right between the eyes?" A mysterious voice goaded, "Nobody, that's who!"

"Shinon!" Titania shouted.

Said sniper rushed out from the bushes, the blue gilded tank hurrying out behind him.

"Slow down, will ya, Shinon? It's hard in this armor!" Gatrie huffed. His blue armor rattled as he wheezed.

"You brats safe?" Shinon asked sarcastically.

"Rolfie here's fainted, but Mist's as peppy as usual." I snickered.

Shinon rolled his eyes at me.

-oOo-

**Back at the Fort…**

I waited outside the mess hall, listening as Greil yelled at Oscar, Ike, Boyd and Rhys. Ike had tried to tell him that I had come along as well, but Greil didn't care. He accused them of bribing me to come instead.

"They're in a shit load of trouble." Shinon chuckled as he passed me.

I looked back, surprised. Shinon never talked to me… "I tried warning them. I knew Titania was out to get help."

The sniper's eyes squeezed together in an accusing squint, "I've heard you sort of… tell the future or something."

"I guess you could call it that." I scratched the back of my head nervously, "You want your fortune?"

"I don't think so. It's a bunch of baloney if you ask me."

"_Did_ I ask you, though?"

He sneered before rushing off. _The guy's ruder than the game suggests._ I thought. _So much for Mia._ I thought of my attempt to put them together. Now that I've actually _met_ him… It seemed impossible.

"Hmph…"

I looked back to see Mist leaning against the wall, "How can Rolf put up with him?"

"How can anyone?"

Mist shook her head, "You're lucky. He's in a _good_ mood right now."

My eyes widened, "Wow…" I looked back to where he had disappeared to, "Never thought him to be that bad."

"You don't have to live with him every day. Luckily, though, Gatrie manages to set him straight." Mist said.

"Well, on a lighter note, he won't be around _too_ much longer."

"And there you go again! How do you know these things?" she asked, rather desperately.

I thought for a moment. Again… What was I supposed to say? "Uh…….."

Ike and the others filed out of the room.

"Trouble? I told you so!" I said triumphantly.

"No. I have another mission tomorrow!" Ike announced.

"Pirates Aground… Right." I sighed. Not so psychic after all.

I watched as Ike left… And then saw his head peep through the doorway, "Wanna come?"

I smiled sweetly at him, "I don't think so."

"Whatever." And he left.

-oOo-

I sat in the quiet mess hall. I don't really know why.

My eyes began to droop, so it was time to go bother somebody. Maybe Shinon was out practicing… Oh, wait… It was getting late. Maybe he's asleep. Maybe… Perfect! I snuck up the stairs and down the hallway.

The moonlight poured in through the window, casting an eerie glow across everything. I tip-toed into the room and began searching for something. Like I'm telling you people what! Just wait…

"Mph…"

I froze, turning my head slightly in the direction of the sleeping sniper. He had turned over, now facing me. He pulled the blanket up, but tucked it behind a fuzzy figure. I squinted to get a better view of the item, but couldn't see. I quietly tip-toed closer and observed it. Wasn't that adorable! It was a small teddy bear!

I bit my lip, trying my best not to let out a sound of laughter.

His eyes flickered as a small snicker exited my mouth. I slapped a hand over my face, making an even louder sound.

"Huh?" he sat up and looked around.

_Shit!_ I thought and began running over several different curses in my head. Then I wanted to laugh even harder. That looked _soooo_ wrong. A grown man, in his late twenties. That was the 1st wrong thing about this. #2. He was bare from the torso up… at least that's all I could see was his upper body. #3. His long, red hair wasn't tied up, so it just looked weird in that sense. #4… He had a teddy bear. And #5… He was practically awake! If he caught me now… In his room trying to attach a rubber chicken to his bow… And, now the most recent,. #6. I just dropped the chicken and it let out a squeak.

"Who's there?" he continued looking around, but didn't see me after I hid under the bed. I quickly pulled the chicken under too.

Feet were right in front of me. I held my nose. When was the last time anyone in this world used soap? Ew! Maybe I smelled bad too then! Gross.

My face was distorted now. From the 6 reasons this was going horribly wrong, to the fact that his feet smelled like cow crap… seriously. And now that maybe even I smelled from lack of body wash. The Earthly kind. A hot bath just didn't cut it.

"Aw, shit. Door's open." I heard him grumble. He got up to close it.

#7. Why wasn't there anything covering his calves? Good thing I couldn't see past his knees! That would scar me for life!

"Come on, Mr. Foozles, I'm sure it wasn't anything serious."

I bit my finger hard, to the point I tasted my own blood in my mouth. This was just _too_ funny.

Gentle snoring was all I could hear now. _Phew. _I climbed out from under the bed, being as quiet as possible not to make a sound. I avoided looking at him at all costs, instead going to find his bow. I finally found it, unstrung it, and attached the rubber chicken as the string instead. A one time use, so I had to think of something worth doing. I put my hand on the door handle, but looked back at the teddy bear. _Sure! Why not?_ I looked around, found his quiver, and swapped it. The teddy was old… Oh well.

I opened the door and left.

Phew… I'll be in a cheez-full of trouble tomorrow! But if he does threaten me, I always have my backup plan! Mr. Foozles.

* * *

FE Frog: Was that ever long! Maybe the longest chapter so far! Like it, hate it? I hope you laughed at it, in a good way. Has anyone _ever_ tried imagining Shinon without his ponytail? When it's _down? _It'll be worse than Lucius from the back! Or, if you're my sister, you'd laugh like a lunatic while imagining him... With a mushroom cut. Actually, alot of looks would 'suit' him. Like a mohawk, or maybe Devdan's-Danved's style. Wow... Sorry, I'm slightly hyper right now, if you haven't noticed. Writing this stuff always makes me like that, but it gets funnier that way! Well, I'll let you go now. Don't forget to read my other story, _Just a Small Town Girl_. Neph and Geoffrey. Not too fond of the pairing, but I think it's cute the way I did it! I've never seen a modern day romance between them, so... Yeah.


	5. A Little Bit of Randomness

The not-so-long-awaited chapter is up! Yaaay! Someone mentioned something between me and Ike a few cghapters ago, and here it seems pretty prominent, but I'll just take the time now to say _nothing_ is happening. if there _was_ romance... Well, I;d have to eventually come back to my own world, right? So what's the point?

Disclaimer: This site is dedicated to using stuff that doesn't belong to you. You _won't_ get sued if you put something up here. If anything, it's the site that will. You'll actually oly get sued of you _claim_ the stuff, but you see, I'm _disclaiming_ it.

Read on my pretties! And here's some thanks to the peeps who make this possible! Just wait a moment until i find the reviews for this chapter...

**Bubbles745**- Yaaay! Hi Meg! (She's a friend from my old school. I ain;t saying where that old school was.... Adds an air of mystery....) I'm glad you liked the chapter! I still want Claud to read it... But since the theme of it is, to her, ridiculous, she won't. :(

**chayaa-chan**-Thanks for reviewing! This person reviews alot of my stories, so, I like her! It's really nice when you have dedicated people who help you with most of your stories. Yup...

**Gooble**- uh... I know it's hemophobia. it was either a typo, or spell check editing it for me.

and last but not least, another dedicated reader **Spygirly**- Glad you liked it too! Yeah, well... The gross-osity of it is what makes it funny, no?

So, if you want you're name to be cleverly written into this little part of the story, all you need to do is review! It doesn't matter whether the review is one word, one sentence, or one hundred sentences, i'll still read it and thank you for it!

Now, you guys can read. Isn't that what you came here for?

* * *

"Where… were you?" Mist mumbled as I quietly closed the door.

"Bored. Now I'm tired." I whispered, "Go back to sleep."

She did. She went back down to her pillow and curled up.

I climbed into bed soon after, letting myself drift to sleep.

-oOo-

I squinted in the brightening sunlight that poured through the canopy of leaves.

I was sitting in the practice field, during the sun rise. There was nothing else to do. I couldn't sleep anymore, so I took my clothes and got dressed in the washroom, throwing my clothes back as to not wake Mist up.

The sun tinted the sky pink, making the clouds look like little, soft roses blooming through the blue expanse.

I looked back towards the actual training field, since I was at the edge. There were a few practice weapons lying around.

_I wonder…_ I thought, then got up and picked up a sword.

-oOo-

He couldn't sleep anymore. He looked out the window, to check how early it really was.

The sun slowly rose from its own covers. Was that what kept him from getting a little extra shut eye? Or was it the sound of wood hitting wood down below.

There was the girl they had found, hitting a dummy repeatedly with quite some skill for someone who didn't have any _experience_ in battle.

He smiled and smoothed back his blue hair. Maybe she'd be of some use to the company after all.

-oOo-

I panted heavily. The 'training', if you could call it that, really sapped the energy from me. I was also thirsty. Fencing often dried up whatever water was left in me.

I picked up the water-skin I had brought out and took a healthy amount, wiping my mouth afterward.

"So you _can_ fight?"

I jumped, throwing the water-skin into the air _and_ my practice sword. The wooden stick came down first, landing on my toe, then the water-skin exploded. I was such a klutz.

"Or not…"

I spun around, angry at whoever it was. But… my anger subsided when I saw Ike there. I thought it might have been Boyd or someone worth getting mad at.

He picked up the wood sword, "I saw you practicing…"

I blinked, "You did? Was I any good?"

"For someone that doesn't usually fight, yes. What kind of training did you do before?"

"Fencing. But it was with much thinner swords, and we wore all this protective gear." I slowly reached out to take the stick back, and leaned against it, "Why?"

He shrugged.

"It's kind of early, don't you think?" The sun was no longer staining the clouds pink, but it still gave off an orange-ish light.

"I couldn't sleep. Plus, it's day, isn't it?"

I sighed, "Whatever." I looked around. God, did I hate these moments of awkward silence… I looked at him, "Wanna see how good I _really_ am with a sword?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Like a duel?"

"Sure! Why not? There's nothing else to do."

"Are you sure I mean, I have experience and it's not like I want to hurt you…"

I put on a blank face, "You're afraid of hurting me? With a wooden sword? Only my little sister could do that."

And so… I was at one end, holding my sword before me with one hand. It was kinda heavy. But it was wood, so it wasn't too bad. I couldn't really fight any other way. I bent my legs, raised my sword as a short salute.

"*Près? *Allé!" I yelled in French. That was what the judges said to start a match. Habit, really.

Ike mirrored my stance with everything but his sword being held over his head. Stupid. It left a huge opening below.

I kept my body relaxed as I stood there, waiting for him to attack. It wasn't the best move, since he would automatically get the advantage, but this wasn't a match, was it? It was a duel. We weren't going to try getting 5 points against the other person. This was until one of us forfeited.

He took a step forward, his cape barely moving.

I took a deep breath. Maybe I'd try a *fléche?

He took another step forward.

I ran through several moves I could use. *1,2? *Four seventeen? *Scoop? *Hook? There were so many! He was slowly closing in, and I still hadn't figured out what to do!

I charged, my sword out in front of me. Fléche it was. But I never got the point on that! I always missed, and this time was no different.

He quickly pivoted to the side, bringing his sword around him and catching me in the back, just like his father had on him.

I skidded across the ground, my wooden sword rolling away from me.

"Oh goddess… Meia! Are you okay?!"

I hopped to my feet, trying to ignore any pain. I wasn't one to give up. I grabbed my sword, charging again, this time my blade at my side. I brought it around, hitting him in the side.

He whipped around, but I held my piece of wood on it's side, holding off the attack.

"Not bad. You've got some guts, kid." He said, reeling back and preparing for another attack.

"Who're you calling kid?!" I laughed, blocking his next attack, and his next. Over and over we clashed, not receiving another blow to either side.

Finally, I was preparing to block his next attack, but he jumped up, spinning for momentum, and then landed.

I felt a point at my back.

"Dead."

I couldn't help but smile. I dropped the practice sword and got up, "That was awesome!"

He dropped his own sword and fell onto his bottom, "How the _hell_ can you be still full of enough energy to be bouncing around like that?"

I looked down, "Does that mean you give up?"

"Are you kidding me? It's not like I have a choice--"

"I win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"What?! But you were dead!"

I laughed, "This is a duel, not a battle to the death. I never gave up, and you just did!" A started dancing around, "So I guess you aren't so great after all!"

"You did put up quite the fight."

I skipped inside, happy as can be.

-oOo-

I was the first into the mess hall, prepared and ready to go! (That really made no sense, but I don't give a damn… I'm tired and have nothing else to do)

Mist slumped into a chair, letting her head fall onto the table, "W-What t-time i-is it?" she moaned.

"Time for you to make breakfast, but if you don't want to..."

She groaned.

"…I'll make it."

She lifted her head slightly, enough for her to see me, "Why are you in such a peppy mood. Usually you're telling _me _to shut up."

I bounced up and down. It was like a sugar high all over again, "I don't know."

There was a thump as her head collided with the table again, "Good-night…"

-oOo-

I was making pan cakes. I don't know why. That's all I sort of knew how to make in this world.

I flipped another pancake into the air, catching it in the pan. (**It's really weird how I have great accuracy in all but sports…**)

I soon tossed the fluffy brown circle onto the plate with all the others. There was now a pile 10 inches thick. Then again, I _had_ been at it for an hour, and the guys here can really _eat_…

Oscar pushed open the door, stretching. He stopped and looked at the plate I had in my hands. At least, I think he was looking. That or he was just asleep… his squinty eyes didn't really help.

"Are you awake?" I asked, walking past him into the mess hall.

"Yeah… Did you make all those?"

I put the plate down, "Did you see anyone else in the kitchen?"

"You were up pretty early." He remarked.

I shrugged, "Meh. Couldn't sleep. Now, is everyone else awake?"

There was a loud shout. I could barely understand what it was the person said, but it sounded vaguely like my name…

"They are now."

I ran out, looking up the stairs.

Rolf ran down, a terrified look on his face. He stopped in front of me, giving me an adorable little glare, "Now you've done it."

_Oh snap!_ I said in my head, biting my lip to keep from laughing.

Mist, Ike and Oscar all rushed into the front hall.

"Who _was_ that?!" Mist demanded.

Rolf grabbed her arm like a scared little child. He was a scared little child…

I bit my lip harder, not as hard as last night, but hard enough. _3. 2…1!_ At the last number, a certain red-haired sniper rushed down the stairs.

"You! Who the HELL do you think you are?!"

I giggled at the expression on his face. His eyes were red from fury, rather than their normal blue-ish color. My giggles tried harder to get out. Finally, I came up with one thing to say… "*Buggoc."

He yelled again, and was obviously trying very hard to restrain himself from hurting me.

I smiled deviously, "Don't bother hurting me. If you do, you won't see your little 'Foozles' again."

His face went blank and he just stared at me.

Gatrie's head poked down the stairs, "Who's Foozles?"

My grin widened, "Now, I suggest you just stay calm and eat your little breakfast, okay?"

His face went red, not from anger this time. From embarrassment. He ran back up the stairs.

I rubbed my hands together, "That done, I'm hungry!"

-oOo-

"Haaaaaaa…." I sighed.

Mist was quiet at the other side of the table.

"Haaaaaa!" I sighed again, this time with more exaggeration.

Mist wiped her finger along the table to inspect it for dirt.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Mist looked up at me, "Do you want something?"

"I'm freakin' bored! Of course I want something!" I yelled.

"O-kay… Um…" She tossed a dirty, damp cloth over to me, "You can wipe down this table."

I looked at the cloth, and then up at the younger girl, and then back down at the cloth, "I do enough housework at home, thank you." Total lie. I can actually hear my mom right now yelling down at me to get my butt off the chair and do something. Preferably clean my room.

"What? You think we've got some servant coming around here to clean? We don't fight, thus, we have to clean."

"Don't mercenaries make enough money to hire a maid?" I asked.

"No. We need the money for food and weapons."

"Why bother with weapons? Use that money to get a maid!"

"Then how would we make the money to hire the servant?"

I frowned. Another one of my blonde moments. Well… I'm a really dark blonde, bordering on brown. It's a mousy blonde… "Okay… Then do extra work?"

"I wish." Mist took another cloth out of nowhere and began wiping down a table.

"You know… Using a cloth over and over only makes the table dirtier. If you want a clean table, use soap." I said, picking the cloth up like a girl trying to hold a mouse.

"We don't have soap. The stuff we do have, we use for washing ourselves."

I raised an eyebrow, "You call that soap?" I kicked the cloth under the table, "I'm still bored."

Mist put her hands on her hips, "You're not here for free. You _do_ have to do something."

"Does pissing Shinon off count?"

"No."

"Then maybe I should go and flatten the grass."

"How are you gonna do that?" But I was already gone. (**Man, that was pretty cheezy, but whatever...**)

-oOo-

I yawned as I exited the building. Flattening the grass would be _fun_. If you're wondering, it can also be called napping.

Rolf was shooting an arrow at the target over and over again. He missed every time.

"Rolfie, m'boy, you've got it all wrong!" I said.

His shoulder's drooped, "Shinon's been trying to teach me this for weeks now! I just CAN'T get it right!"

I chuckled, "You just have to relax!"

"Shinon keeps telling me that too, but I'm always afraid someone might just walk by and… WHAM!"

"That's called paranoia. No one is going to be walking by. Try again, relax this time."

Rolf raised the bow again, an arrow all ready for the shot.

"Hey guys!"

Rolf jumped, shooting the arrow way off target.

Mist jumped back as the same arrow landed right where she would have been had she not moved.

Rolf threw the practice bow to the ground, "See! I'll never get this right!"

"Watch it Rolf! You could have killed me!" Mist snapped.

Rolf whimpered.

"Hey, Rolf, do you want me to help you out?" I asked gently.

He looked up at me, "But you don't even fight! You don't know how to wield a bow!"

"I took lessons a while ago. They weren't much, but I learned how to use a bow."

Mist rolled her eyes, "Riiiiight…"

I picked up the bow, "Just watch." I pulled back the string. Aimed….

The other two started giggling.

"What?! I was getting ready for the shot!"

Mist laughed harder, "How? You don't even have an arrow!"

"Right…" How could I forget that? I picked up the arrow, fit it onto the string. Pull back, aim…

"What now?!" I yelled as they laughed harder.

This time Rolf spoke, "Sorry, we were just trying to piss you off."

"You shouldn't be using that kind of language, Rolfie."

Rolf smiled.

"You've been around Shinon too much." I brought the bow back up and shot. It landed a meter off from the target, "Damn it…"

Rolf took his practice bow back, "You're no better than me!"

"Oh well. At least I can say I tried." I shrugged. This wasn't really my _thing_.

* * *

FE Frog: Heh heh... Sorrry about the french earlier. it's jsut, that's how I know my moves! Here's a quick list of waht they all mean

*Près- Ready  
Allé- Go  
Fleché- Directly translates into 'arrow', but in fencing, it's basically just running at the person with your sword pointed at them. (Extremely painful on short distances)  
1,2- Basically just lunging, then when they parry, you go right under and hit.  
Four seventeen- Just tilting it down, then coming up and hitting. You have to do it quickly. (That's just what my teacher calls it. I'm sure there are other names)  
Scoop- Well.... You just scoop their sword out of the way and lunge.  
Hook- The same as scoop, but from the bottom rather than the top.

Buggoc- My version of a clucking chicken. Weird, eh?

Yes, well... I'm no good at sport unless they involce weapons. Heh heh... I am a fencer, and I took archery lessons. Me likes my weapons.

Anyways, so... Uh.... I'll be fighting soon, and you people thinkGreil's being too nice, so he'll get pissed off at me next time! I hope. We'll see if I can fit it in.

Well... I do like reviews, cause it gives me a _reason_ to write. It also gives me inspiration. I don't have a deadline for this, so don't expect this up until I actually feel like writing more. I can write lots in one day, or just a sentence. Sadly, I already have ideas for the RD version.

REVIEW! It's not necessary, but preferable! I get lotsa hits, and anonymous reviews are welcome! Just son't be mean people. If there were any mistakes, too bad. i looked it over already.


	6. Enter the Judgemental Brat

FE Frog: Yay! I finally got this updated! About time, too.

Now, before we get on with this, for those who haven't _ever_ read my profile, and don't know anything about me and are just conjuring up an image themselves (tell me it looks nice), I thougth I'd quickly tell you peeps something 'bout me-self!

1. Brow, almost blonde hair (more on the brown side)

2. Gray-ish blue eyes.

3. Unlike most canadians, and actual accent. Yes. I say 'eh' alot, and have an accent. Kinda weird, really...

4. Freckles ALL over my face. Mostly 'cross the nose, and they're all pretty light. But very few anywhere else bout my nose and my cheeks .

5. What else?

6. 5'3''/5'4'' (Last time I checked. Which was October.) And if I got the little marks wrong, don't hurt me! I'm canadian, remember? We have the metric system (Much easier. It's all byt 10s and 100s and 1,000s and so forth)

7. Uh....

8. Hmmm.... Can't really think of anything else. How about..... Uh.... Never mind. That's about it for now.

SO, now you have a vague image of moi. So... On with the chapter! YAAYZ!

But, before we begin... THANKS REVIEWERS! Just so my readers know how awesome the peoplke that actually review are....

**Arbella Scott**- I think that's the second time I've heard that. Funniest writer for FE, eh? THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! That kind of thing really makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside (scrathc the fuzzy. That would be weird to feel fuzzy inside... *shudder*) And thanks for reading!

**Gooble**- Er... thanks? Rather brief, but still means alot!

**Spygirly**- Glad you thought it was funny! I'm actually glad everyone thinks it's funny... ANYWAY! Reviews go a long way! Thanks for yours!

So, you want your awesomeness to be known? Review for the goddess' sake! (Being in Tellius had really gotten to me, hasn't it?)

Obviously, I don't own it. I wish. That would be cool.

* * *

I got up later than usual. Hyper days lead to tired days. I pushed my self up, then turned and fell on my back, arms spread out and hanging over the side of the bed.

"Oh, God…" I moaned as I pushed myself out. My legs were a little wobbly, but I stretched quickly and felt slightly rejuvenated.

I got dressed and headed downstairs. Again, it'd probably be just me, Mist and Rolf.

I yawned as I walked into the mess hall, my arms stretched up.

"Who _is_ THAT?!"

My arms were still suspended in the air when I realized it wasn't just going to be three kids here… I blinked several times. A new face had joined our little crew. Luckily, it was only Greil, Ike, Mist and some other kid. 'Course _I_ knew who it was…

"Soren, this is our newest member."

I dropped my hands and smiled awkwardly, "Uh… Meia."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Soren looked at Greil, "Where did you even find her?"

Greil bit his lip like a child being scolded by his mother.

"In the forest. I didn't know where I was, and they showed sympathy for little old me." I made a little puppy dog face.

"What does she do?"

"Nothing…" I heard Mist mutter.

Soren frowned. (Like he wasn't already!) "Alright, so why's she here?"

I motioned to Greil, "Hello-o. Sympathy." I yawned again, "Man, am I ever tired!"

Mist sighed, "Considering it's _you_, I'm not surprised, even if you did JUST wake up."

"Yeah, well… That's the kinda person I am." I sat down at the table they were all at.

Soren glared at me, "So, are you going to do anything, or not?"

"Uh… Well, I only clean when I'm bored, and I have to be _really _bored for that." I looked down, "And… If you want me to try fighting for you, I'm cool with that…"

"I will admit," Ike finally spoke up, "She _can_ fight. Put up a good one against me."

I chuckled, "What he said. And if I fight enough, I could get over my little fear of blood…"

Soren threw his hands in the air, "What the hell are we supposed to do with this good for nothing?!"

I rolled my eyes, I knew it'd come to this, "So... Gonna kick me out now?"

"No!" 3 out of 4 yelled.

Soren nodded and grinned, "Finally a good idea today!"

The kid was _really_ pissing me off here. "Alright! I can do that, but…"

"No…" Mist whined. She made a pouty face for Soren.

Soren glared, "I absolutely am NOT falling for that again."

"Again?" I asked.

They all ignored me.

Mist sighed, "She's my friend, and I want her to stay. Pwease, Daddy?" puppy dog eyes at the commander.

Soren crossed his arms, "I give up!"

Greil looked at his daughter, than to me. He took a breath and shook his head, "Whatever."

I smiled sweetly, "I won't let you down, Boss!" And ran out before anyone objected.

-oOo-

Greil sent out a few people to go along the old highway.

I was blowing at a feather I found randomly lying on the table. I had already done a clean sweep of the fort, and now was bored OUT OF MY MIND!

"Wow… it's… Clean."

"I was bored." I moaned, then looked to see Mist plop down beside me, "You seem pretty bored yourself."

"That's life. I'm always left here alone with Rolf, and sometimes Rhys, so… Meh." Mist shrugged.

"I guess it kinda gets boring not being able to fight with the rest of them."

"You have _no_ idea. I'm always sitting here in anticipation to see them all come home in one piece. I'm always afraid that something might have gone wrong."

I never thought about it that way. I usually always made sure that never happened, but sometimes Boyd died… And I would continue on. ANYWAY! I let out a long breath, "I wish I was actually _good_ for something here. My mom used to yell at me ALL the time for sitting on my arse all day," Playing Fire Emblem, "and doing nothing but read, write or whatever else there was to do that wasn't anything productive. The only thing helpful I'd do was homework," and I never really got any of that. Even now. Especially in Math… "So, I'd be sitting there like a lump on a log."

"Like you do now?"

"I try not to. At least I do _something_. I made breakfast before, didn't I? I do a lot of things here! And look what just took me 5 hours! The fort is sparkling it's so clean!"

Mist looked at me skeptically, "Granted, you _do_ do things every once in a while, but you have to make it every day. Only Rolf or I could get away with doing nothing, because we have to live here, you could get thrown out at any moment."

I sighed, "That's the problem. I can't really fight, can I? My wanting to puke every time I see someone bleed makes that almost impossible. I don't even normally fight with a sword, which also makes that a problem, and my 'allergy to cleaning' as my mom calls it, makes helping out pretty hard too! Just some mindset of mine that makes me _want_ to clean, but my body never listens." I started scrubbing invisible messes from the table. Boredom kicking in again.

"Well, Rhys got over the some thing. Being a healer, you kind of have to. Also, you say you beat Ike in a duel, (which I kind of doubt), means you _can_ fight. And a pretty simple explanation as to why you don't clean might be that you're lazy." Mist explained.

"I wouldn't be surprised." I sighed. There was a long moment of silence. No one said anything. Not a word…

"Woah…"

Mist and I both turned our heads to the entrance of the mess hall. No one was there, yet, but I would have guessed the scouting party just came back, a little princess unconscious in their midst.

Mist slowly stood up, "I think they like what you've done."

"Well, the fort _was_ pretty grimy, I'll tell you!"

The girl walked over to the archway, "Hey! They've got someone with them!"

-oOo-

I yawned and let my eyes droop. I was in the mess hall once more, leaning on the wall, my legs were stretched out along the bench. It was getting late, and the girl Ike and his crew picked up was still asleep in Mist's/my room.

There were a few candles around, but altogether there wasn't much light…

My mind started to drift when…

"Psst!"

I winced as someone jabbed my arm really hard with their finger.

"Hey!"

I moaned this time when they jabbed me again.

"Wake up!"

My hand flew up and I grabbed their wrist before they could jab me again. I opened my eyes and glared. Surprise, surprise. Mist. "Poke me, and die."

She ripped her hand out of my grasp, "Geez, you don't have to be so rough!"

I closed my eyes again, "Then don't bother me when I'm sleeping. My sister learned that the hard way."

"But… The woman woke up!" she whispered.

"Good for her! I did too, but no one's making a big deal out of _that,_ now are they?" I turned away from her, then shook my head, "You're still there, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

I groaned loudly as I pushed myself off the bench, "So," I stretched up and yawned, "Are you trying to get me to follow you now? Do you want me to come meet the little princess?"

"Princess?" she eyed me questioningly.

"Call it a slip of the tongue. You'll find out soon enough." I smiled tiredly.

We headed into some other room. The library or something. There were scrolls and bookshelves on every wall.

I rubbed my eyes as she pulled me into the room.

"Princess, eh?" Greil asked, slight amusement in her voice.

I sighed, "I told you that you wouldn't believe her!"

Everyone turned to me and I felt my ears get hot.

Elincia blinked at me.

Greil nodded awkwardly, then continued with Elincia, "I didn't know King Ramon had any children."

"That was the whole point…" And I droned out their talking and sat in a corner. I closed my eyes and let myself drift to sleep…

Poke.

I leapt from my chair and looked around. I looked at Mist, "I thought I already said---"

"We're surrounded."

I ran a hand through my hair, "How long was I asleep?"

"A few hours." She said quickly.

"_Great_." I yawned again.

"Dad wants you, along with everyone else, in the mess hall."

"Alright…" I breathed.

-oOo-

I lumbered into the hall and collapsed onto a bench.

"We're here, dad!" Mist called.

"Good. You two and Rolf take the Princess and stay IN the fort!"

I frowned, "Come on! I'm not staying here while you guys fight! How boring would that be?"

Greil glared at me, "Complaining again? Is that _all_ you're good for?!"

I shrugged, "Pretty much."

"For the love of…" he slapped his forehead, "I don't have time for your nonsense!"

"Okay. Cool with me."

"Fight. Ike will get you enough from the armory."

I blinked, actually shocked, "… What?! Just like that, you want me to fight?!?!"

His eyes were sharp, "I'm not asking. You live here now, you follow _my_ rules. Now go before we waste too much time!"

"Gah!" I jumped up and followed Ike out.

Ike chuckled, "Wow. Dad's pretty pissed."

"Yup. I didn't think he'd be _mean_ to me! I was just hanging around…"

"Well, at least you get to prove your worth. Maybe he's trying to get you out of here. If you fight, you might just die." He said.

I made a pouty face and crossed my arms, "So, your dad's trying to get me killed? Mist would be _soooo_ mad."

"Not necessarily. Dad probably just wants you to rethink staying with us, or getting some use out of you."

I walked into the armory and looks around. "So…."

"What have you trained as?" Ike asked rather bluntly.

"Uh…" I looked around innocently, "Nothing."

He sighed, "Then how could you be good enough with a sword?"

I shook my head and breathed. This was getting annoying, "I can use a sword, and I have pretty bad accuracy with a bow, but I'm like Rolf."

"Rolf uses a bow?"

"Never mind."

Ike set off and dug through the mounds of armor and weapons. He pulled out a sword. It was blue-ish, "Are you skilled enough to use a steel sword?"

"Haven't I already said I use thin, rapier-like swords?"

The blue-haired man mumbled something and tossed the sword towards me.

I picked it up and tested it's weigh. I grabbed the handle with both hands and swung. The hilt flew out of my grasp, "EEP!"

"Holy shit!" Ike yelled quickly as the sword twirled over his head, just missing by an inch.

I covered my mouth, "Oh my god! I'm _soooooooo_ sorry!"

Ike got up and gave me an iron sword, "Start out with this, then."

I took it in my hands and gave it a swing, it stayed put in my hands, "Alright! I guess I'll have to work on it…" I sighed.

He went back to the pile.

"What are you looking for now?" I asked, looking over his shoulder.

"You think you're going out like that? You need _some_ armor!" he tossed a shoulder pad over, then some other stuff.

I picked up the stuff and made a face, "Why does this smell like it's been used 50 times?"

"Probably, because it has."

"_Great_…"

-oOo-

I came out, all decked out in mercenary stuff, and then an iron sword in a sheath hanging off my belt. Ike said that if I could at least use a bow without it snapping in my fingers, I could carry one around. It was iron too.

"Dad. We're ready." Ike said solemnly.

Greil nodded, "Alright! I want everyone who's fighting to go out to the front and protect the courtyard from the intruders! I'll go 'round the back and fend off the rear entrance." He looked at me as if to ask 'Are you gonna be okay?' I nodded. He looked back to everyone else, "Alright! Let's move out!"

-oOo-

I trembled as I stepped out into the yard. It wasn't just for a little stroll, or practicing on a dummy like it usually was. I was put here to fight, risk being killed and never go back. Hell, even if I did survive the war, how was I supposed to know I'd be going back?!

* * *

FE Frog: So... Did'j'ya like it? Yes, I left it right there, before the battle. Truth is, I just wanted to post. This one wasn't quite as funny as the last one... I mean, I tried to fit in a few little scenes.... ANyway. I'm too lazy to write anymore for now. Hopefully I'll have another one up soon, but chapters this long (I try to aim for over 2,000 words) take loads of time to write! And you have no idea how many tiomes I kept deleting scenes and rewriting thewm completely. Ha.... If you think I'm _that_ lazy, think again. Writing is Hard work!

Oh yeah, as a side note. Does anybody else really not like the new fe game? Cheez... NO character development, NO support, and NO bringing their exp up between chapters or anything. And it's impossible to beat the last chapter! Cheez... Never thought i'd say that. It only took me 2 days to beat RD (I will admit, for a girl, I'm a serious gamer) and it's taken me 3 weeks to get as far as I am! Mostly because of school, and doing the last chapter over and over again. Haa..... God, I really don't like that game. BUT! Like all other things, it has it's ups. Like, you can skip enemy turns (Now I wish they had that on the other 2 I have. I'm just getting so bored through 'em!) and you can skip right through battles. Er... that's about it for the ups.

Anyway. So, Ciao for now! Hopefully I'll have the next chapter ups soon!


	7. The Fight Sort Of Begins

FE Frog: I _AM_ on a roll! Two updates in 2 days? Too bad they're not for the same story... Oh well. Also, too bad I don't like this chapter too much...

Alright, so.... I FINALLY FIGHT!!!!! YAAAAAYZ! Although, some of you might not find that so great.... You'll have to see why after!

Disclaimer: I'm not in the game, so do I own it? Answer= *Sniff* No....

And thanks too.... Who actually did review?

**spygirly  
Arbella Scott  
:D Me** (What do you mean by that? *Pout*)

Well, I normally shove Soren and Rhys off to the side in this battle, and since my character is a bout as useful as Rolf right now... That might explain that.

Enjoy....

* * *

I came out, all decked out in mercenary stuff, and then an iron sword in a sheath hanging off my belt. Ike said that if I could at least use a bow without it snapping in my fingers, I could carry one around. Mine was iron. Like the sword.

"Dad. We're ready." Ike said solemnly.

Greil nodded, "Alright! I want everyone who's fighting to go out to the front and protect the courtyard from the intruders! I'll go 'round the back and fend off the rear entrance." He looked at me as if to ask 'Are you gonna be okay?' I nodded. He looked back to everyone else, "Alright! Let's move out!"

-oOo-

I trembled as I stepped out into the yard. It wasn't just for a little stroll, or practicing on a dummy like it usually was; I was put here to fight, risk being killed and never go back. Hell, even if I did survive the war, how was I supposed to know I'd be going back?!

I took a few deep breaths. Scratch that, Iwas hyperventilating here! There were Daien soldiers near the entrances, coming closer. My lower lip quivered.

"Alright, useless."

I spun around to see Soren glaring at me (what was his problem?).

"We'll see if the commander's letting you stay proves a good decision."

I smiled, "I can already tell you it was. You just wait and see."

"I guess I will just have to _wait_."

I stuck up my nose at him. I could tell by the first look he gave me that he didn't like me. At all. He despised me alright. That's okay, though, he can despise me all he wants! I ain't disappearing!

I marched over to where everyone was gathering in position. I was… placed at the back. Guess Ike didn't trust me enough with a sword to protect myself properly.

The battle began, but Ike told me to stay back for a while.

I leaned against the wall by Rhys, "So? How's life?"

He blinked, "Uh… Fine…. I… er… guess…"

I nodded, "Good, good. Anything new?"

"Not… uh… really…"

I chuckled, "Don't be so shy! I'm just trying to talk, here!"

"Don't, then."

I frowned. It was my little, annoying friend. Well, this annoying one wasn't really my friend.

"This is battle, not tea time. You fight, you don't talk." Soren said in monotone.

I put an arm around his scrawny shoulders, just to piss him off, "Lighten up, my friend. It's not like Rhys is doing anything right now, is it? No one's hurt yet."

Soren ducked under my arm and gave me the dirtiest look that mean face could manage, "Don't you _dare_ touch me!"

The volume of his voice, and the pure venom of it made me laugh. Funny how things like that do. "God, Soren…"

It really didn't help that his eyes were big and _red_. They just added to the evilness. He had that whole mad pose going. Straight arms, then tight fists. Lips squished together… All in all, Soren = ridiculously funny.

"Uh… guys?" Rhys said shakily.

Soren ignored him and I was too busy trying to make the midget mad.

"Uh…"

I saw it. I quickly pushed Soren down from the back of his head, just as an axe swung over us. Good thing my tactics of getting the mage out of the way weren't the rather uncomfortable, jump on the person tactics. The two of us were squatting beside each other. Nothing awkward about it. Last thing I needed was to be looking down into those evil, red eyes of his…

"I said don't touch me!" He yelled, popping back up.

I restrained myself from hitting him, instead unsheathing my sword and stabbing at the fighter. The sword went right into his stomach. Gross…

I winced as I pulled the sword out. The body fell limp to the ground. "Ew…" I wiped the blade in the grass, "That is absolutely disgusting…"

"Maybe you shouldn't be fighting then." Soren teased.

"No thanks for saving your life, then?" I said, sheathing the piece of iron.

"Saving my life? More like breaking my neck!" he spat.

I sighed, still trying to restrain myself, "Well. I'm sorry for saving you from having your head loped off." And that was it. I just left him there and decided it was time to join the fray.

-oOo-

Packing, went good. Battle before that… Not so good. Soren officially hates me. I screwed up badly, resulting in a broken arm, and I almost hacked off Shinon's head (how much you wanna bet that _wasn't_ an accident?). Also, near the end, I couldn't restrain myself anymore… Er…. You can guess what happened. Soren has a broken nose right about now. So, now the emo kid wants me tucked away in the deepest, darkest corners of hell. Like he didn't already.

We were on the road now, in the middle of the night. Okay, I would think it's about 3 a.m. by now…

"Is your arm okay?" Mist asked, just like she did every 5 seconds.

"YES Mist. I'll live."

"Not with Soren around."

I sighed, "Please don't remind me of that ungrateful little idjit."

"Okay. And after that incident with Shinon… I mean both the incidents--"

"Mist?"

She looked at me with those big, blue eyes, "Hm?"

"Shut up."

Now Mist hated me too. Not for long, though.

-oOo-

2 days later.

"Mist?"

"Yeah, Meia?" she was skipping along as we marched.

"How many days has it been since I got here?"

"Uh…" she put a hand on her chin, "Hmm… I think about 12."

"Damn it…" I snapped my fingers, "Missed my birthday."

"What about your birthday?"

"I _missed_ it."

"What has that got to do with me?"

I slapped my forehead. God, she was dull. "I MISSED it. M-I-S-S-E-D!"

"Ooooooh!" she waved a finger, "You _missed_ it. I thought you said you _Mist_ it, which didn't really make sense."

I frowned, blinked twice, and didn't even bother.

-oOo-

1 week later.

I still couldn't move my arm without it hurting like hell. What happened to casts?!

Well… At least we were on the border of Gallia and Crimea. If you're wondering why it took so long, think about how we were trying to _avoid_ Daien. We never used the roads, and normally were walking through forests. I fell about a hundred times, 5 of those on Soren (and did he ever _love_ that). It ain't easy going through a forest with a broken arm! Why couldn't he see that?

It was good to get out of that forest, though. But, once we did, we were met by a patrol of Daien soldiers.

"Damn… Them again, huh?" I whispered to the twit beside me.

"Yeah…" Mist sighed, "I guess that means I'll be running again."

I patted her back, "That's not so bad, seeing as I'll most likely be hanging around you guys."

"Hey! Everyone gather here!" Greil called rather quietly (?). "Shinon! Gatrie! You two will come with me to secure the road. Mist and Rolf, you two take Elincia and head around the diversion Ike and the rest of them will make."

I paled, "Y-you mean… I'm gonna… *gulp* _fight_?!" a whimper escaped my mouth.

"Ah, I forgot about you. With your arm like that, you can't fight. Serve as protection to Mist's group, just in case."

"Aye-aye cap-i-taine (as in… er… French?)!" I saluted him and quickly followed Mist and the others to the east. We all crouched down in the bushes, waiting for the brief diversion to take place, "So…"

Elincia was busy constantly picking leaves out of her hair, so she didn't bother speaking to me.

Rolf stared at me unblinkingly. I just cocked my head to the side and stared at him back before snapping, "What are you looking at?"

"There's a spider on your head."

I was silent for a moment, but when I felt eight tiny legs crawling over my forehead, I jumped up screaming. ""Get it off… GET IT OFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Oh scheiße… I blew it.

All the soldiers attacked Ike's group in the bushes because of me! God, I'm stupid…

"Nice going!" Mist growled, lifting herself off the ground.

Rolf got up and flicked my forehead. The spider dropped off. I squished it quickly under my heel, "I don't give a damn if it'll rain for seven days!" I said finally.

"Well, they've already started distracting the soldiers." Elincia murmured, "Don't you think we should go now?"

I shrugged, "Probably. C'mon people, allow me to escort you with blade in… left hand. Oh cheez, this'll be hard." I pulled out my sword and attempted to swing. It sort of flopped to the side before falling out of my hand. "Uh… I'll use my fist. They'll probably do more damage than this piece of junk." The sword went back into its sheath and we made our way over the bridge to safety.

The main group wasn't too far behind. I was relieved once they did come around… well, sort of. I swear, if looks could kill I'd be dead a million times over. Make that a million and one right now. Soren _really_ hated me.

"Nice going, useless." The mage hissed.

I made a face and ignored him. Instead, I went to… hm… Rhys! "How did the battle go?"

The priest's face went red. What the hell was wrong with me just simply talking to him and asking how the battle went?! Ah, well. He looked away for a moment, "Er… Everything went fine… I didn't have to use my staff… so I guess…" he just mumbled on from there.

I usually get bored pretty quickly, so I just left the mumbling carrot top to himself.

"Why did you scream like that?!"

I turned and smiled when Boyd approached. Too bad he wasn't smiling. "Well, meathead. Have you ever heard of arachnophobia?"

"Arach… huh?!"

I slapped my forehead, "I'm surrounded by idiots."

Mist passed by and said, "Careful, he doesn't understand you're complicated words."

"I understood that!" the green-haired fighter yelled.

"I'm surprised." I teased before moving on. I sat down on a log a bit farther from the group. I wouldn't be heading in with them, anyway, I'd be escorting the princess to the palace instead… or… no, I'd be hanging in an icky… spider filled castle. Bleh.

I let my head droop, hair hanging around my face. I was such a klutz… We were in hiding and I screamed. What was the point in hiding anyway? With me around, it's never 'sneaky' per sé. Ugh… How the hell am I gonna go on like this?!

"Hey…"

I looked through the curtain of my hair. A vague image of a certain blue-haired swordsman was displayed before me, crouched down as to keep himself eye-level. I brushed away my hair, "Hm?"

"Why'd you scream? You gave us away, making the battle that much more difficult."

I blinked, "Uh… Spider?"

The look in his eyes told me he was a little skeptical, "A spider?'

"Mm-hm." I nodded, putting on a nice, big smile, "You see, Rolf told me there was a spider on my head, and really… what girl do you know isn't afraid of spiders? So… I screamed."

Silence.

I kept my big smile on, "Is that good for an explanation?"

Ike still wouldn't say anything.

My smile wilted.

Finally, the ranger got up and said, "You're lucky my dad isn't here." He turned to leave.

"Uh… Ike?"

He stopped, "Yeah?"

"Am I useless?" I asked. What a pathetic question… But, I just wanted to know.

Ike looked down, then at me, and then down again, thinking carefully over what he was going to say. Finally, he opened his mouth, "Uh… Well… You're not necessarily _useless_, just… not the strongest in our group. You have your moments, and I'm sure eventually you could be quite useful…"

"So I'm useless."

"Not exactly…"

I gave him a 'just-spit-it-out' look.

"Yeah, sort of."

I jumped up, "Good! How about this, then? _You_ train me to be strong! Then, I can be useful to you guys!"

That caught him off guard. Ike stared at me unblinkingly.

"Sound like a plan?" _Please say yes… PLEASE say yes!_

"Uh……………"

I sighed, "Fine, be a big meanie. It won't be my fault I can't do anything, though! The blood is on your hands…" Yeah, maybe I did that a little too dramatically. I opened one eye, he was still just standing there… staring… "Oh come OOOOOOOONNNNN!"

"Fine."

I stopped right there. Did he just say yes? Fine meant yes… so…. YESSSSSSSS! "Oh, thankyouthankouthankyouthankyou!" I hugged him tightly.

"Gaaah! Can't… breathe…." He choked.

I brought back my arms, "Sorry…"

"No… problem… Just, can we start later?"

"Oh, yeah, sure!" I saluted with another big, cheesy grin, "You won't regret it!"

"For some reason… I already do…" but I left before he could change his mind. Yay! Now I'd just have to wait for my arm to heal! That'll be a problem.

* * *

FE Frog: If you didn't like it either, not my problem. (Or is it? I mean... if you didn't like it, maybe you'll stop reading! *Gasp* I swear it'll get better soon enough, jsut right now isn't exactly a part anyone would like writing. Personally, I can't wait for ze birdies! Hah.... And Naesala.... Enough of zis rambling!)

Okay, now that's out of me, so... Like it? No? *Sniff* Review anyway. Pwease? I like reviews. They make me happy.

I seriously didn't like that ending.... Sure it got that point across, but I seem like a begging bitch, don't I? (excuse my language) Actually, so far I've only made myself into a bigger and bigger bitch, haven't I? Hm.... What to do about that? Be nice? Do Shinon's hair? Okay, maybe not the last one... That'll just get me killed. Just review while I plan okay? Al;right!

Hm.... I still want to style Shinon's hair, though....


	8. Training

FE Frog: Yay! I'm on a roll! The only thing is... I think after a bit it gets rushed. I just haven't been in the mood, is all, but at least I'm finally getting somewhere in the story! Oh, and sorry, but this chapter ain't as funny as the others, if it's funny at all. By saying that, you guys can probably guess what happens. Too bad it's a bit rushed.... This chapter is also more for explaining some things (honestly, I don't see what there is to explain, but hey... It's an excuse of sorts) Well enjoy! Oh, Cheez.... Probably the most humor here is in this author's note. Meh, oh well. And once again, it may seem it but THERE'S NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND IKE! Alright? Unless I have the majority of you, what, 5 people? say you want romance, I'm stickin' to making the romance between other characters. Kapeesh? Er... Enjoy? I ramble too much.

Thanks to....

**FoxwolfJackson**  
**Arbella Scott  
:D Me **(Not as a rude comment or anything, but you should get an account)  
**spygirly  
Holy Star**

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Ike was sitting in the mess hall. Just sitting there. I'd heard that Shinon took Rolf out hunting for food, since the laguz were late. I sat down on the other side of the table, "What are you thinking about?" I asked, resting my head on the wood.

The blue-haired mercenary looked at me and gave a smile, "Nothing, really."

"Is it the laguz?" I had a sneaking suspicion that was _exactly_ what was bugging him.

He sighed, "Yeah... I never expected them to be so..."

"Big? Furry?"

Ike smiled, shaking his head along with a silent laugh, "Sure." He looked at my arm, "I see you're all better."

I grimaced, "Yeah. Just, never go to Mist with broken bones. It's painful. _Really_ painful." I looked around the room, "Pretty quiet, eh?"

Ike nodded, "Yeah. I'm kinda glad it is... the new recruit wouldn't stop talking the whole way here!"

"Ah... Mia?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

I grinned mischievously, "Intuition."

"You're such a strange girl."

"I get that a lot." the crickets were chirping outside... "So, when are we gonna get started with the training?"

The blue-haired soon to be commander traced random lines on the table with his finger, "How does tomorrow sound?"

"Good!" I bounced up, turned to leave, but stopped before I started to walk, "Good night."

"'Night."

It was bright and early when I woke to the sound of clashing metal. _Eh?_ I looked out the window to see Ike and some new girl sparring. Who in their right mind sparred this early? Mist was still sound asleep in her bed as I quickly got into something decent and made my way down into the courtyard of the fort.

I doubt the two noticed me watching, but I can tell you one thing _I_ noticed. Ike's shoulders were tense, making it harder for him to get in that second blow before the girl got in her two. Tense shoulders mean slower reflexes. Something I learned from an Olympic caliber fencer. The girl was swift and agile, dodging most of Ike's powerful, but slow hits. There was hardly any muscle in her compared to Ike, but damn, she was fast.

After another 30 minutes, Ike held up his hand, "That's enough for today, Mia."

The girl pouted, "Man... I almost had you!" she looked over where I sat, "Hey! I haven't met you before!"

I blinked, "Er.... I'm Meia."

She ran over, "I'm Mia! Would like to spar some time? Like at dawn? I love dueling at dawn!"

"I couldn't tell..."

Ike picked up a towel and wiped his face, "You're good, Mia. I hardly have any energy left."

This time I pouted, "What about _my_ training?"

"I'll be good enough for that."

Then in a matter-of-fact tone, I decided on scolding him, "You know, you would have more energy if you would just relax your shoulders. You're too tense, therefore have terrible reflexes and speed. You may have power, but you need speed as well if you want to actually _do_ something to your opponent rather than just wounding them."

The blue-haired meat-head raised an eyebrow, "Since when are you an expert swordsman?"

"I just learn these things."

"I might use that advice."

"You should." I picked up a practice sword, "So... How are we gonna start this?"

Mia still stood on the side lines, maybe thinking she too could help with the training. I had just gotten into position when she raised her hand, "You're stance is all wrong. How are you going to hold a heavy sword with one hand like that?" She walked over and fixed my positioning. Now I stood with both hands on the sword's hilt, shoulders relaxed and ready.

Ike got into his own stance, this time dropping his shoulders, "Alright. Now come at me, I want to see exactly how you swing your sword."

Moving was much easier like this. My legs were slightly bent and I could actually walk instead of the awkward crouching thing you did in fencing. I brought my sword back. First mistake. Ike used that to his advantage and blocked it easily.

"You don't do that, it's just like telling the opponent 'I'm gonna swing now.' They know, and therefore you're technically dead."

I groaned, "I know. I just don't normally fight like this."

Mia took the sword from my hands, "Try it more like this." she swung upwards, but it was all too sudden for Ike to do much. He barely blocked the attack, "It's unexpected, and that way you have the advantage." she gave the wooden sword back. I mimicked her move, and also almost got a hit. Seems as though my relaxed shoulders trick really did make Ike's reflexes better. Ike made me do that about ten times before moving on.

"Now, I will attack you. Block it however you must." he lunged forward.

Instinctively, I parried and reposted (block and lunge). Ike nodded, "Very good. Try another block." he swung at me. I was too slow, therefore he hit me in the stomach, driving me to the ground.

"Ow..." my sword rolled away as I grabbed at my sore stomach.

"If this were a battle, you'd be dead."

Mia picked up my sword again, and did another demonstration. I mimicked hers and blocked.

"Good. Let's do that another ten times."

About an hour later was when Mist sent someone out to get the three of us. I'd learned a lot, got beat up a lot, and altogether was better with my sword. Now I was hungry.

Mia sat beside Mist and I, scarfing down her food like there was no tomorrow. But why should I be complaining when I was doing the exact same?

Mist pushed our bad table-manners away and asked, "How did the training go?"

Mia punched my shoulder, "Meia's improved a lot."

I smiled sheepishly, "Yeah.... Er...."

Mist nodded, "That's good. So are you gonna be of some use in the next battle?"

"I can only hope so."

"You know what," Mia grinned, "after breakfast, I'll train you some more! The sooner the better."

I moaned, "I doubt the same goes for my bruises... Can't you give me a break?"

"Nope! We've already taught you the basics, now all you need is to practice with us pros!"

"Somehow... I have a feeling this ain't gonna turn out quite as nice as I thought."

And I was right. Mia didn't go easy on me at all. Of course, I'm more or less used to that. Really, none of the people in the fencing club went easy on me, and they were almost all better. It's painful, to say the least.

Mia did a bang-up job with me. Sure, I hit her maybe, what, once? And that was pure luck. God, I stink at this. We ended the session off by going down to the nearby river to wash off. I was a little nervous at first, I mean... sure Mia was a girl, but I hardly knew her, and.... Yeah. Eventually, though, I told myself I didn't have much of a chance and it's either take a bath or have everyone avoid you. I chose take a bath.

Mist had also requested we bring back two buckets each of water. Like my arms didn't hurt enough after getting thoroughly smashed to bits! All I did was nap once everything all was said and done.

Mist came up to tell me that dinner was ready. That was when I actually went down to eat. Oscar had helped a little, but dinner was mostly the uniform flavored sludge. Most of the guys around ate without question, but Mia and I were a little reluctant. I heard from Boyd it tasted vaguely of cheese. Yum..... cheezy sludge.

Mia prodded at her 'food', "Is this all there ever is? It doesn't even look edible."

I wrinkled my nose, "Every so often Oscar makes something nice, but you missed my tacos."

"That sounds good! Tomorrow night, let's make dinner!"

"Good idea!"

"Now... what to make?"

As the violet-haired myrmidon pondered, I watched as Greil and Ike got up and left. That wasn't a good sign. I excused myself and decided to follow, keeping a safe distance away. The two stopped not too far out of the fort. Greil said something to Ike, but a 'safe-distance' meant out of ear-shot, so I couldn't hear anything. Ike turned to leave, began walking away. He looked back, and after seeing his dad continue on, he ran into the forest. I got out of my bush and sprinted not to far behind.

A loud _CLANG_ echoed in the still night air. I slowly stepped out of the bushes, watching in awe as Greil fought a man encased in ebon armor.

Ike stood there as well, just watching. That is until he actually realized I was there as well. The blue-haired man looked at me, "What are you doing here?"

"Curious as to why you two left so suspiciously." I hoped that was enough of an excuse. Ike nodded and returned his attention to the duel.

Greil and his opponent exchanged pretty good blows and kept at it until the black-clad guy shoved him back. Ike, being the stupid and strange guy he is, yelled. Greil yelled back.

The Black Knight threw a sword towards the commander, not at him... Luckily. Greil made a little comment (have you noticed I'm not interested in writing all this stuff up?) and got his axe. Idiot. One last charge and....

"FATHER!"

Unlike in the cut-scene, there was blood. Some of it clung to the silvery metal of the Black Knight's sword. It stained the grass, and it slowly dripped out of Greil's mouth. Watching this whole thing had me captivated, too interested to even bother being irked by the blood.

"Is that... all?" the black Knight withdrew his sword, letting Greil stumble back. I was rooted to the spot, while Ike ran forward to catch his father. God, this was traumatizing. I just stood there, wide eyed and open mouthed. How... I can't even begin to explain. I don't know about after that, though. I think I fainted, something I had never really done before. At least the darkness was welcoming.

It was raining when I woke up. How pleasant. I sat up in my bed, the wool blanket twisted around, over and under me. A little puddle was gathering under the window from the stray drops that made their way through the open hole.

I turned on the spot, letting my feet dangle over the cold stone. I ran a hand through tangled, neglected hair before getting up. The others would be glad to see me awake if I truly had fainted. Well, at least Mia would.

Down in the mess hall... it wasn't the same. On normal days, everyone would be talking loudly, laughing loudly, and some even snoring loudly. Obviously, today wasn't a normal day. The death of Greil put a real damper on everyone's moods. After realizing everything, even I felt sad. Greil was nice to me. He let me stay with his group, and really, who doesn't mourn the loss of a family member? I guess that's what I was now. _Family_. These people were as close as I could get to that. And Greil was too.

Mist sat at one of the wooden tables, head in her hands. I could see her forearms had little streaks of water. She was crying. I know I would too if my dad just died and all I had left was a meat-head for a brother. Rolf sat beside her, rubbing her back soothingly and trying to comfort his friend.

Soren sat in a corner, overlooking everyone. Not a single emotion was displayed on his face. He looked as monotone as ever. That bugged me.

Now, if we move to the other side a little I could see Rhys, bawling his eyes out. No offense to him or anything, but that was a little pathetic, even if it was super sad.

Titania wasn't in. She might be somewhere else, sulking in solitude.

Boyd and Oscar weren't in. Neither was Shinon or Gatrie. I guess we could all guess what was happening there. About time, too. Shinon gets on my nerves.

I went to sit down at the table where Mist and Rolf still were. Might as well be nice to Mist. I sat down across from her, "I'm sorry, Mist."

The brunette looked up, eyes still a little puffy, but otherwise, her tears were all dry, "Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry that your father is…" I have to think of my words carefully here, "Gone. I apologize for not being able to do anything to help him. I just… stood there."

Mist's eyebrows knit together in confusion, "You were… there?"

"Yeah." Alright, strange much, "I fainted. Who brought me back?"

Rolf went wide-eyed, "Some Gallian soldier said he found you in the forest, on the ground. He had blue hair and a funny hat."

_Ranulf_… "Er… so… A laguz found me?" Right! Ranulf was watching, along with Caineghis. That would make sense that one of them were to find me. I doubted Caineghis would have carried me back. Still, why would Ranulf, who doesn't know me whatsoever, find me and carry me back? I guess I oughta ask him when I meet him.

Mia trudged in, nowhere near as peppy as usual. She plopped down beside me, a huge frown on her face, "Man… What a mood-killer."

I couldn't help but smile, "I know."

Mist sighed, "I never thought anyone could hurt dad like that."

"I'm sure that guy ain't the only one who's tried."

Rolf nodded, "Such a powerful man is probably a prized target."

I shrugged, "Greil was pretty damn powerful."

Mist sighed again, propping her head up with her hands, "Ike just better not get himself killed out there."

Rolf flushed. I wonder what goes on in his head. He bit his lip before speaking up, "You know you've always… er… g-got m-me."

So that's it! Rolf was blushing because he liked her! Awwwww. How adorable! What a cute moment!

Boyd came running into the building, "We're surrounded!"

And, so much for that thought. What. A. Day.

* * *

FE Frog: Man, this chapter was a little disappointing, but I PROMISE I will make it up for you guys in the next chapter, since it is a battle and everything. Oh, and Ilyana makes her entrance. I'll try and make that at least a little humorous. Damn, and I forgot about Muston and the gang. Er.... Let's say I was unconscious when that happened. How about it? Thanks for reading!


	9. Gallia

FE Frog: Woah, that's a quick update! And to make matters BETTER, I have TWO battles in here (well, two that I take part in. One happened when... you'll find out).

Thank-you to the following reviewers:

**bballdabcer14  
spygirly  
jojobevco  
FoxwolfJackson**

I hope I get some more reviewers here... Oh, and this is probably the last update for AT LEAST 2 weeks. My sis and I are headed down to the cottage. I don't know if my Oma has wireless, but if she does, I'll be writing! (But not posting... hmph) I almost have chapter 11 down! During the summer, you hardly have a life, anyway, and it's been non-stop rain lately. Oh, and spygirly, if you do ahve a new chapter that needs editing, then I'll be able to get it done down there! I'll just sneak onto my Oma's laptop.

Well! Enjoy!

* * *

The merchants that just happened to be there (probably came when I was out) and gave me a new iron sword, although I was able to use steel now. They also gave me an iron bow. Still need practice with that.

The rain outside didn't help much. It turned the dirt under us to sticky, icky mud. That was especially bad for Titania and Oscar's horses.

"Meia..." Mia came up behind me, "Are you gonna be okay this time?"

I nodded slowly, "We'll see." Although, the fact that I had to _kill_ was a little disturbing. Sure I'd killed one guy before that night we fled, but it was an emergency and I was barely aware of it. Question is... Can I kill on my own accord? Answer: Probably not.

I took a deep breath and unsheathed the blade that hung at my hip. This was gonna be interesting. Luckily there were probably no spiders out right now, but the mosquitoes were already eating me alive.

Ike stood by the entrance for the time being, talking with Soren on the best strategy. Eventually, he turned to us and assigned us a spot. Let's say we're looking down on the map, remember this one?

Alright. Mia, Oscar and I were to head to the left. Ike and Boyd would use their regal sword and hammer on the knights to the right, while Titania would deal with the horsemen down below. Soren and Rhys were backup and would wait in the center.

I headed over to the opening at the left with Mia, pulling out my bow. We'd agreed that Oscar and Mia would do the real fighting and I could pick off the leftovers. Good, hoping that I _could_ pick off the wounded.

Oscar lanced through quite a few, instantly killing most, and Mia was always first to attack, giving her a good advantage. I nocked an arrow and pulled back the string, aiming at some myrmidon that was slowly retreating with a gash in his stomach. I could see him fumbling for a vulnerary. Is it really fair to get a guy when he's down? What a troublesome question. My own hands were shaky. I had the shot, I just needed to release...

The myrmidon fell after being hit with some serious wind. I looked back to see Soren closing his book and sighed, "You know I had that guy!"

"Did you kill him?" the mage sneered. He grinned at my silence, "No. These are Daien soldiers, they deserve no mercy."

I rolled my eyes and ignored him. God he was annoying...

We were doing pretty well. Most of the Daien soldiers were gone by now, but I could've sworn I saw something in the bushes. Of course, I hadn't actually _killed_ anyone, except for the few that were unfortunate enough to attack me. It still gave me goosebumps to think their blood was on my hands now. How else is a 14 year-old supposed to react? I actually KILLED people, not quite murdered, since they brought it onto themselves, but... I shivered at the thought.

Mia and Oscar went up ahead to deal with some knights, while I just stayed back in case a few rogue Daiens came in. I was wiping my blade of blood when I saw, out of the corner of my eye, some movement. TWO myrmidons came up the steps, right at me! I dropped the rag I was using, and just barely cut one's arm. The man dropped his sword, grabbing at the wound while his companion swung at me. The attack came as a surprise to me, and as such, the swordsman caught me off-guard, slicing open my back. Ow, damnit... That hurt. I collapsed to the ground, unable to do much. The standing soldier raised his blade, ready to finish me off when... Ew. The tip of a steel lance protruded from the guy's chest. I guess Oscar left the knights to Mia, then and decided to come and save me.

As happy as I was I was saved, if I were to lose any more blood, I was as good as dead. My vision blurred, and just before my consciousness gave, a blue light filled the sky. Maybe I'll be joining the curs where ever they were going...

This time, I awoke to sunlight pouring through the window. The bed was different as well, plush and... expensive? Okay, either I'm dead or just...

I looked around the room. Stone walls still, but nicer stone. Different stone. My sister Christiana would be able to tell me what kind, but I never paid enough attention. I decided on thinking back. Okay, so there was the battle, and then those two myrmidons. One of them practically killed me, and as far as I knew, I wasn't dead. Not like I knew what death was really like, but I doubt the people in heaven- or hell- gave you bandages for wounds.

I ran a hand through my dirty hair. How long had it been since I last had a shower? Ew. My whole body felt gross and, well, like I hadn't had a bath in FOREVER.

I stood up on shaky legs, I swear I'm missing out on a little too much lately. Oh, and fainting. After steadying myself, I made my way to a room of what looked like a bathroom. Water was already in the bath. Nice. It also smelled vaguely like... roses? How pleasant!

"Meia?" Mist's voice carried into the small bathroom as I was about to get ready. She poked her head in, "Oh, hello! I should check you out first." she pulled out a staff, "Rhys could only use his heal staff on you, and then it even went out. We only just arrived at the Palace this morning."

I nodded, "Alright. How is everyone?"

"Alive. You were our only possible casualty." she smiled at me, carefully unwinding the bandages, "Looks like you've healed pretty well! Do you want any help?"

"No," I felt the water. It was warm, "I can take a bath on my own, but thanks for asking."

The girl waved, "Well, come down when you're done. I hear dinner is almost ready. Bye!"

A nice bath later and I was on my way down to...

"Excuse me?" I asked a passing cat-woman.

The blonde feline narrowed her eyes at me, "Well, if it isn't the pathetic one. I see you're better."

I blinked, "Er... yeah. Where's the mess-hall?"

The purple-eyed laguz snorted, "You hum-... beorc," she gave me a fake smile, but it quickly changed, "and your barbaric terms. The _dining room_ is this way. I was headed there myself. Please follow."

I sighed, "Alright then."

The cat lead me into a large room with 4 tables to scale. The other mercenaries were seated around one of them, while some laguz were sitting uncomfortably at the others. I was glad to be out of the laguz woman's presence and scurried to Mia's side.

Mia was glad to see me, "Meia! Yay! I'm so glad you're better!"

I smiled sheepishly, "Yeah..." then I turned to see the laguz, who were sneering and making snide comments. I whispered to Mia, "Is it just me or do the laguz hate us?"

"It's not just you." someone said into my ear, which caused me to jump from my seat. Mia laughed as I turned to face the person. Two mis-matched eyes looked at me, a smile appearing below them. The man sat down beside me, "Most of us can't seem to forget things that are over and done with."

My heart was still thumping as I examined him further. Two blue ears stuck out of his azure hair. He wore a brown, sleeve-less shirt and a matching hat thing. A tail the color of his hair swished below the bench. I let out a long breath, "D'you mind? You really scared me there."

The laguz turned his head to me once more. He arched an azure eyebrow, "Aren't you the girl from the forest?"

I cocked my head, "Are you the cat that carried me back?"

"That I am! Captain Ranulf, but you can just call me by my name." he held out a hand, waiting for me to shake.

"Meia. Useless one of the Greil Mercenaries." I had to laugh as we shook.

Mia sighed, "You're not useless. It wasn't fair that we left you back there all alone." she leaned over, "By the way, I'm Mia."

"Confusing. A Meia and a Mia..." the cat filled his plate with several different kinds of meat. I felt a little self-conscious with that one, I just had a little chicken along with more than half my plate filled with salad.

Mia giggled, "I never thought of it that way!"

I slowly started eating, "So... Is it a habit of yours to rescue helpless beorc women?"

Ranulf almost choked on the... steak? he was eating. After a little pounding at his chest he answered, "No. At least, not usually. I just saw Greil being murdered, and the blue-haired one pretty much forgot about you. I excused myself from the presence of the King to-"

"Wait!" Mia held up her hands, "You were there? With the King?"

The cat blinked, "Yeah."

The swords-woman nudged me with her elbow suggestively. I swatted at her arm and gave her a brief glare.

"As I was saying..." I saw him smile again, "Who can help rescuing a pretty girl just lying there."

My face flushed; Mia let out a cough that vaguely sounded like a combination of a laugh and an 'I told you'.

Ranulf leaned into me and whispered, "Is your friend alright?"

"Yeah," I smashed my heel into her foot, receiving a pained yelp, "she's just being silly."

"Okaaaaaaay... Well, I'm gonna go back to my own table now, alright?" Ranulf picked up and left.

I glared at Mia, "You even scare the laguz! I can't believe you!"

The purple-haired girl just had to grin, "He sooooo likes you."

"What the hell? I barely even know the guy! And for God's sake, Mia, he's a LAGUZ!"

My hopeless friend just shrugged, "Hey, he said you were pretty."

The group was going to head out tomorrow by the sounds of it. 3 laguz warriors were to accompany us on our way to the Port: Lethe (the evil cat I met before), Mordecai and Ranulf. Apparently Ranulf already had our transportation planned. A boat at Port Toha would bring us south, then east towards Begnion. Simple? I wish. 2 months at sea was not what I had in mind.

Mia bounced into my room, "I can't believe we're leaving already!" she landed on the end of my bed.

I wiped my nose with a handkerchief for the 50th time, "I know, but I can't wait."

My green-eyed friend looked at me carefully, "Why are your eyes all puffy? You sound like you have a cold!"

I groaned, "I'm allergic to cats." That got her going. Mia was on the floor laughing within seconds. I put my hands on my hips, "It's not funny!"

"Hah hah hah! Oh Goddess..." she wiped the tears from her eyes, "So much for that Ranulf guy."

"You're still going on about that?" I blew my nose, making Mia let out a little burst of laughter each time, "I swear, Mia... I don't even know why I'm friends with you anymore."

"Huh?" she made a pouty face.

"You know I don't mean it like that." I sighed and lay back on my bed, "You should get to bed."

"I should." followed by silence.

"Are you still there?"

"Yeah."

"Good night."

"Oh." Mia got up and left, saying one last thing before closing the door, "Good night."

King Caineghis was nice enough to lend us several tents, one per member of our mini-army, and about two extra. Oh yeah, _definitely_ gonna help. Meh, at least we didn't have to sleep on bedrolls out in the open. I still preferred the palace's commodities.

Mia swung an arm around my shoulders, "It's time to be going!"

"I see that." sure she was my friend and all, but the peppy-ness got on my nerves sometimes, "So... Any new members?"

"Oh, yeah. There's the three laguz..." she began counting them on her fingers, "Uh... the shy mage, Ily, or something like that. Then there's that strange pegasus knight, Marcia... She has a thing for crackers."

I nodded, albeit a bit skeptically, "Sure. Oh, and the mage is Ilyana."

"I don't care WHAT her name is, she ate all the dessert last night!" Yeah, that was a problem. Apparently she got hungry after everything on the table was gone and wandered around. They had to get a lion and two tigers to pull her out. Haaaah... At that point, there was no food left for us. That gave the laguz yet another reason to hate us.

I chuckled, "She is a bit strange, isn't she."

"Too bad she doesn't talk to anyone..." Mia slouched forward, "I wonder if she's interesting."

"Probably will only ask you for food."

"Probably."

"Helloooooooooo!" an arm landed on both of our shoulders.

I looked between Mia and I to see Boyd, a stupid grin on his face and a faraway look in his eyes, "Uh... Can we help you?"

Mia gave me that 'what-the-hell-is-he-doing?' look.

Boyd's grin only got wider, "Suuuuuuuuuuuuure."

I sniffed. Alcohol. "Boyd... How can you be drinking in the morning?"

That's when Rolf came up. He nearly paled when he saw Boyd, "Oh, Goddess! I'm sorry! One of the tigers escorting us to the border," the King had sent a few more to ensure a safe passage, "claimed that beorc had weak stomachs. Boyd challenged the guy to a drinking match. They're both drunk"

Mia grimaced, "What idiots."

"Exactly what I thought." the drunk man's kid-brother lead Boyd away, who was spewing off random words... Ones that would be mentally scarring if I were to reveal them.

Mia shook her head, "I can't believe that guy."

"Hey, you haven't been stuck with him for the past two or three weeks." I huffed.

"I've been around enough to know he's an idiot."

"Oh, he's more than that."

Ike decided to take a detour to one of the forts along the way, one that he was informed held Crimean soldiers.

I stopped by Muston's to pick up some new equipment. He had just gotten some steel swords in, and I bought two with the bit of cash I was making (oh, and the company paid for most of it) I also bought a vulnerary. Always good to be careful!

Mia joined me at the entrance. A strange man in brown met with Ike, and apparently joined. We were told to be as silent as possible.

That didn't last long.

Reinforcements came in from the rear, and I finally got the courage to kill some. It wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. Hey, I'll be doing this a lot. The trick is... don't let it faze you. (I hope you don't think I actually _do_ have experience... I'm just making this bit up!)

The people that stayed behind -Mia, Lethe, Soren(bleh), Rolf and I- made our way up to help with the other soldiers that had just newly joined the fight. Volke, on the other hand, went ahead to pick the locks, of course he charged for each one. Bastard.

The battle ended pretty quickly-ish. I was just happy I was able to do the job of a mercenary properly. But, what did that make me? Yeah, a killer. Small price to pay... at least in this world it was.

Mist came to heal up my few wounds (yes! Finally a battle I didn't get hurt! Or hurt somebody...). "You're getting much stronger, you know." the cleric said, finishing off her routine healing.

"So are you, eh?" I smiled, "How've you been on the battlefield? That was the first time I ever saw you in action."

Mist shrugged nonchalantly, "I'm not dead, am I? I guess I've done well. What can a cleric really do other than healing anyway?"

"Touché."

The cleric was silent for a moment, "Do you... think maybe you could teach me how to use a sword sometime?"

"I'd love to, but don't you think maybe Ike should teach you? He's your brother, after all."

Mist sighed, "He never has any time for me anymore."

"Well, why don't we wait a bit, eh? Don't forget, even I'm being trained still." I smiled at her, "I ain't no pro yet."

"You just contradicted yourself."

"Don't you have other people to heal?"

"Right!" she turned quickly, "See ya around!"

I rolled my eyes, "At least she's not as annoying anymore... Instead she's turning into a little smart a-"

"Ah, well if it isn't the useless mercenary!"

I spun around to see the blue feline from before, "Oh... Ranulf. Hey!"

Ranulf smiled, "Sorry I haven't been around. That friend of yours scares me." he looked around cautiously, as if she would pop out of nowhere.

I laughed, "Mia has that effect on some people."

Ranulf chuckled as well, but did soon recompose himself, "You know, you're different from other beorc I've met."

"You're different to, eh?" I countered, "From other laguz I've met, that is. They're all like Lethe, holding a grudge against us because of our race." Reminds me of my own world.

"Yeah, well... The King has been tying to teach the new generation of laguz that beorc are nice, but the older ones can't help but remember the past." again, reminds me of my own world.

I began heading towards the tent wagon, to pick up my tent. So far, I was on my own. That was probably gonna change, "That frame of mind is all too familiar. I swear, not all of us humans are like that. Do you think the poor of us could afford, let alone house a slave? Money changes people. It changes people in a bad way, even. The nobles were the only ones who had slaves, right?"

"Wow... You have a very valid point there. I doubt many have thought of it that way." Ranulf put a hand to his chin.

"Well, there's just too much of that everywhere. The nobles even treat fellow humans like crap."

"Why do you keep calling yourself that? Human. It's such a barbaric term."

I almost laughed, "It's only a crude word when you give that name to me, right? Is calling yourself a sub-human rude?" I picked up my tent, a LARGE bundle that was hard to carry.

"Let me carry that for you." the cat offered.

"Thanks!" nothing like a personal pet. Whoa... next thing I know, I'll be petting the kitty Dr. Evil style. Mwahahahahaha... ehem.

"I've never met anyone like you." Ranulf said, throwing the bundle over his back. God, he looked scrawny, but this dude was pure muscle.

"Is that a complement?" Hey, I couldn't help but ask. I threw in a flirtatious smile. As much as I'd refuse to admit it, that was just how I rolled.

"Hmm... I'll have to give that some thought." the cat joked.

We continued walking and talking. Good thing he wasn't a complete fur-ball, otherwise I'd be sneezing like crazy. He was actually really nice! Unlike the other laguz I'd met. Some even deserved the name 'sub-human', but I wouldn't sink that low. I'm too nice for that... Heh heh.

Ranulf officially got the 'sweet-heart' status by helping me pitch the tent. I'll tell you one thing, it ain't a one-man job.

It was around dinner time when Mia approached me, exasperated by the looks of it.

"Meia! I found you!" she huffed and puffed (but didn't get to blowing the house down).

"Yo..." I cocked my head, "You okay?"

"That Kieran guy stole my tent! Can I bunk with you? Pleeeeeeease?" she got on her knees, hands clasped together. How could I refuse?

"Fine. I knew it would come to this eventually..."

"Yay!" the myrmidon jumped up, throwing her arms around me, "That's why I love you!"

"Yeah, yeah. Nice to know. Would you get off of me?"

Mia did as told, "Anything else?" This could be useful... Mwahahahahaha! Hey, I need my kitty!

* * *

FE Frog: Well, at least I have some humor in there! I told you I'd end up making up for it, not to mention how LONG the chapter was! Oh, and sure Mia suggested that I've got an admirer, but didn't I say there would be no romance? It was the just for the sake of... humor? I don't even know if that was funny or not. Whatever. Well, review!


	10. Bon Voyage!

FE Frog: I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! No, I'm not dead. not yet. And i don't have much homework either, so I don't have a really awesome excuse as to say why I didn't post this earlier. Well, I've been working on an original story with my friend's help. And I've been working on it since July. Many of my friend's say it could become a book, and I'm almost done writing it out AND typing it up. Then comes all the hassle of rewriting over and over again. I'm on hiatus for now, and have MAJOR writer's block for JASTG. I almost finished the next chapter, but it got screwed up, so I have to rewrite and figure out what to put as the big thing in the chapter. the next chapter for that WILL be big. Any7way, I hope you enjoy this chapter. it has some insight on future pairings. even a main pairing. too bad this main pairing will have to wait.... and you will NOT guess the pairing until the time comes. it's spontaneous and I have NEVER seen it before out of the 4,000 or so stories up here. but it works. Trust me. and I officially LOVE it. ENJOY!

P.S.- Wasn't in the mood to correct. Tired. Was up till 3 last night reading a book. Then I woke up at 7:30 to go to german school. yucks

* * *

Our group was in Port Toha now. It had been 3 long days of walking, _trying_ to sleep while Mia snored on and on and ON. I swear to God, in the past 3 days, I've only gotten about, what, 4 hours of sleep? Mia even made a point of asking me why I looked so tired every 5 minutes. Speaking of which, she was probably due to ask in 3, 2, 1—

"Meia, you have bags under your eyes…" Mia examined, "You sure you're okay? You look so zonked out."

I groaned, "Why do you think, genius? My friends say _I_ snore loudly, and I can hardly sleep with YOU!"

Mia nodded understandingly, "Blame Kieran. He stole my tent."

At this point, I was completely ready to murder the thief… er… axe knight? I rubbed my eyes, "Why again didn't the King give us more than three tents?"

"… No comment…" Mia looked away, but (of course) her face was right up in mine seconds later, "You really DO look tired!"

"Oh for the love of…" I spotted some kind of boutique off in the distance, "Hey, Mia! When was the last time you went shopping?"

She blinked, "… Shopping?"

My head dropped, "This is gonna be a _loooooong_ day…"

-oOo-

"MEIA!!!!"

I groaned and turned away from the clothes rack I was browsing through once upon a time… or just, like, 2 seconds ago…

Mia was standing in front of me, a huge grin on her face, and an orange tunic in her hand, "What do you think?"

Wow... I fake smiled, "Very nice, and just like the other _orange_ stuff!"

"Really? I'm going to go try it on then!" she scurried away to go try on the orange tunic that looked EXACTLY like all... 15 others.

I sighed. As much as I loved Mia (...as a friend...) she could get annoying as well. Not as much as Mist, but still... I found some nice stuff as well, but being new to this whole place while also being new to the Greil mercenaries.... I didn't have a lot of spending money, to say the least. I had enough to buy one or two shirts, though, which is good. How to put this... I'm only 5'5" and even Mist was shorter than me. And then big... uh... assets run in the family. Mist was also a freakin' twig, I'm not. Not that I'm fat... Geez, I'm average weight, for God's sake! I had the shape Mist didn't, so her clothes were, naturally, a bit small on me.

I put back the things I didn't want (more like couldn't afford...) and went to the medieval equivalent of a checkout counter.

The brunette looked pretty bored and was leaning against the desk, playing with a lock of her hair. She noticed me and sort of straightened up, but her voice stayed pretty bored. She also looked as though she was chewing gum... "How may I help you today?"

"Uhm... I'm gonna, er... Buy these two things..." I said awkwardly.

"Tell me something I don't know." she took the clothing and checked the price tags. For a place set so far back, they were actually quite modern. She wrote on a piece of paper and used that weird thing where you slide the beads to count up everything. She looked up at me, "38 gold please."

If I was back at home I would have laughed. Here... I pulled out my gold pouch and started taking out coins. I had 36 gold. "Damn it..."

The cashier laughed, "Looks like you don't have enough. Which do you like better?"

That was when Mia came out looking a little sad. She came over to the cash with _one_ shirt. Wow... I didn't think she would be leaving without a huge bag full of clothes.

I put on my puppy-dog face, "Miiiiia.... Do you happen to have an extra two gold coins?"

She sighed, '"Fiiiiiiinnnnnne...." she pulled out her money and put in her gold coins, including the cash she needed for her stuff. She made a face at me, "You owe me."

I grinned back, trying to look as ridiculously innocent as humanely (or Meia-ly) as possible, "Next pay check, okay?"

The cashier yawned, not moving her hand away from counting the coins for even a second to cover her mouth, Instead it was open for us to see... and smell. Have I ever mentioned that they don't have toothbrushes? It's not even morning breath bad, it's 'never brushed in my life' bad. Something I doubt many _normal_ people have experienced. Not to mention the chick's teeth were all yellow and gross. My teeth were pretty messed up, but braces were gonna fix that soon! Or... as soon as I got back...

Mia seemed unfazed and just grabbed her clothes, stuffing them into her shoulder bag and started to leave without me. I came back from my thoughts of how gross this person's teeth were and grabbed my stuff as well, "Mia! WAAAAAAAIT!"

-oOo-

I was at the wagon putting my new clothes away in my trunk. Lucky for me, it was on top of the pile. Mia's wasn't. Sucks to be her, I guess. Now, why would I be telling you this if something wasn't about to happen? Yes, I am aware I'm just weird like that, but seriously. Not even I would be telling readers random stuff like that.

ANYWAYS! As I was saying, I was putting my stuff away when I heard my name being called. It sounded vaguely like Ike's voice... Or was that-- OSCAR?! What was he doing over here? And why the hell did I mistake him for Ike?

"Meia!" The green-haired, squinty-eyed, newly made paladin called again.

I turned around. Oscar only had a few pieces of armor. Ike told us to wear a bit of protection just in case anything were to happen seeing as Daien was here, but not too much as for it to be suspicious. I raised a hand, "Hey Oscar. What are you doing here?"

"Ike needs you and Mia at the port. We'll be boarding the ship. He sent me to get the wagons, and if I saw you two to tell you as well." he explained.

I nodded understandingly, "Got it. I'll get Mia, then and help her put all the trunks back in the wagon."

Oscar raised an eyebrow--which looked kind of funny when you're squinting--but didn't bother asking. Instead he continued on, bewildered.

"Oi! Mia!" I yelled when I saw her sitting on her trunk to close it, several others scattered about. I held in a laugh, "Need some help there?"

Mia looked relieved to see me, "Am I ever glad you came! Here," she got u, "You sit on it. You're heavier than me."

"Oh thanks." I grunted, laughter completely gone, but I sat on it nevertheless. The sooner we could get going the better.

Mia put her own weight on it as well and the lock closed. "Whew..." She sighed, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, "Thanks a lot Meia."

I got up off the box and looked around at the other ones, "We have a lot of cleaning to do, don't we?"

"Yup..." Mia grabbed one end of her own trunk as I grabbed the other end. "Lift!" We got it abut 5 inches off the ground before dropping it again.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed, yanking my foot out from underneath the heavy trunk, "HOLY SH** THAT HURTS!"

Mia gasped, her hand on her mouth, "Oh Goddess, I'm so sorry!"

I lowered my foot and smiled, "Psyche."

The purple haired myrmidon put her hands over her chest, "Meia... Don't do that! I seriously thought you broke your foot or something!"

"Hey Girls!"

Both Mia and I turned with bored expressions to see Boyd. He was doing some weird pose to show off what he called 'muscles' and what we called 'flub'.

Boyd switched to flex the other side, "Need some help from... DA BOYD!"

I looked at Mia, "Is it just me, or was that, like, super corny."

"I agree." She nodded.

Boyd picked up one of the trunks no problem, and as he was about to get it into the wagon.... "OOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"I say we leave now, before he notices." Mia suggested.

"I agree."

-oOo-

We arrived in town just in time to see the townspeople bullying Ranulf.

"Filthy sub-human!" They screamed, pushing him around. I know one of the genres for this is humor, but we've already had a pretty serious chapter, right? And this... this was just sad. In a 'I want to cry' sort of way.

Ike was _going_ to step in, but I beat him to it. I put my arms out in front of Ranulf, making sure these idiots weren't able to touch him. Oh yeah, then I started talking.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing?!" I yelled at them. The fat one of the women looked taken aback, while the others just glared at me.

A fairly young man clenched his fist, "What are YOU doing protecting a sub-human? The blood-thirsty pieces of filth haven't done anything to help us humans!"

I walked up to the guy and grabbed him by the collar. it was a little pathetic seeing as i was shorter than him, but I was _definitely_ capable of pounding his ugly little face into his skull, where it would be out of sight like it should have been in the first place. I narrowed my eyes at him and said through clenched teeth, "I really suggest you leave right now."

The fat lady who was surprised earlier took the back of my shirt and pulled me away from the guy no problem and pushed me off to the side, "No human should be willing to help a sub-human!"

I should have let Ike take care of this. Luckily he came into the rescue here.

"There's no reason for you to be bothering these people. They haven't done anything to you." he said calmly.

A skinnier lady gasped, "Wasn't the runaway princess accompanied by sub-humans? You must also be with the princess!" she turned in the direction of a Daien soldier off in the distance, "Guards! The princess is here!"

Ike was completely taken off guard, "What? You'll give away your princess to the people who destroyed your country?! What kind of people are you?"

I knelt down by Ranulf and tugged at one of his ears to let him know that no one was going to attack him right now, "Hey. Pussy-cat. Get up."

The cat groaned, swatting at my hand so I would stop pulling his furry ears.

Mia huffed and decided to step on his tail. That got him up on his feet.

Ranulf grabbed his poor 'little' tail, "What did you do that for?!" he screeched.

Unlike my gentler ways of approaching these kinds of things, Mia told it how it was in as blunt of a manner as possible, "Aren't you laguz supposed to have, like, super-hearing? We were ratted out by one of the villagers."

Ike turned to us, "Ranulf! Why didn't you stop them from hurting you!"

I decided to sit this one out. Ranulf rolled his eyes, "Gallia and Crimea made a truce. I can't attack them. It's as simple as that." Is it just me or was that totally shortened from the actual game script? Or maybe it was just me getting lazy... and not having played that part for over a month.

And that's how it started. My stupidity. I guess it would have started anyway, but I had to stand up for Ranulf there. Hey, the cat was growing on me. I guess you could also call him a friend of sorts... Too bad he pretty much ditched us in the beginning.

Ike had told Mia and I to go up the east side with Lethe and Rhys, Lethe as the main fighter and Rhys to heal us. Did he not notice that Lethe didn't really seem to like me?

Lethe's ears were twitching as we stood, ready to start when Ike gave the go-ahead. Anybody with _some_ brains could tell she hated the group she was put with. Yes, that means Boyd was oblivious and the only one in our group who _couldn't_ tell. Riiiight... Forgot to say he was added into our group too!

Ike had placed Boyd right behind Lethe, and as far as I could tell, the only places his eyes were was her tail. Or rather where her tail was attached. Stupid Lethe was wearing short-shorts

Lethe hissed at nothing in particular. And then her eyes went to me, "You beorc better not slow me down! I'm not in the mood to pick up your slack."

I whispered to Mia, who was standing right next to me, "Notice how she looks at me when she says that."

The blonde cat's eyes narrowed, "I hope you know I can hear you! I'm not deaf like you hairless people!"

Oh, was she asking for it. I tried a come back, making sure it wasn't racist. Ir at least I tried to make it not _sound_ racist towards her. "Neither are we, hair-ball!" The 'not making it racist' didn't end up working so well.

If looks could kill, I would be dead an infinite times over by now. Lethe's eye was twitching now as well as she tried her best to restrain herself from coming up to me and beating me into a lifeless corpse, "What. Did. You. Just. Say?"

Boyd laughed, "She called you a hairball," he paused, trying to think of something to call her, "hairball!"

Lethe's glare was scaring me to the point that I was pale as a sheet, "You just made an enemy, beorc."

And I didn't doubt it.

-oOo-

The battle had started by now. Actually, it started, like, 3 minutes ago. Mia and I were having fun beating up vigilantes that were even more pathetic than me. I could to stab through a few, and if Mia didn't quite kill one, I would shoot it with my arrows. I had a 1 in 3 chance of hitting, but against the vigilantes, I missed as much as Shinon did. Yeah, _never_.

Lethe snarled at one of the vigilantes, and I readied my bow. Maybe kitty wouldn't finish him off, and it would be Meia to the rescue! But when not even Lethe attacked the guy, I lowered my bow. The vigilante had long blue-ish grey hair. Wasn't that... Zihark?

I got closer to hear Zihark saying something about _saving_ laguz, and Lethe was totally unconvinced. Typical. I think it was my fault Lethe hated humans--- I mean _beorc_ more than she did before. And yet eventually she gave in and we continued upwards.

I beat everyone else to the house nearby an went in without knocking. I'd never done this before, so...

"Gah!" A man yelped, "You're one of the laguz, aren't you?" he was huddled up in a corner, "Only savage beasts break into our houses!"

My hands were on my hips, "Well then, you have your stereotypes messed up. I ain't a laguz. I'm as human as you are, buddy."

The man shivered, "Don't lie to me! Just take what you want and leave me alone! I don't want to die!"

I stared at him in disbelief, "You are the most pathetic human in existence, you know that?" I walked over to him and leaned over so our eyes met almost evenly, mine still holding superiority, "Do I _look_ like a freakin' animal?"

The man tried to back away, but a solid wall posed a problem for him, "N-n-n-no..."

"Precisely." I patted him on the head and started out. My eyes caught a lance in the corner. What it was doing in a wimp's house, I didn't know, but I picked it up anyway, "Mind if I take this?"

The man shook his head quickly, probably just wanting me to leave. So I did, not after strapping the lance on my back so it was easier to carry. Where else was I supposed to put it? In my _pocket_? Sorry but this no longer is a game.

Mia was outside fighting an axe knight. I picked him off pretty easily with my improving skills and she came over to me, "Nice lance. Gonna use it?"

"Yes, of course." I said, sarcasm evident, "Because I've been training with lances for a while now."

"You have?" Mia was absolutely astonished. It made me want to smack her.

I just kept quiet and slapped my forehead before engaging in another battle. This was getting easier for me. I must be gaining experience. I wonder what class I will be after a class change? Or even really what class I am now...

Lethe more or less ignored us the entire time. The only one she helped or talked to was Zihark. What was up with that?

I could see Titania up ahead kill of the boss. Phew. That meant we were almost done. I had been so busy fighting I only got to a few meters in front of the bridge, whereas Lethe, Zihark and Mia were all on it already. I stuck my sword in the ground and leaned against it for a little, minute-long break. God knows I needed it.

And then something super scary happened that i totally forgot about. The Black Knight came out of a house. And he was really close. So close I was pretty much a goner. Not good, not good, not good! And I was too tired to move out of the way, too!

I got lucky this time around, because the Black Knight didn't move. Did that mean I was _just_ out of his range? Holy. Crap. I didn't have enough time to sigh in relief as I sped forward as soon as my legs would let me.

Just as I arrived by the actual Port part of the town, I noticed the battle was over and we had started boarding. Mia was waiting anxiously by the plank that lead onto the ship. A wave if relief seemed to wash over her as well when she saw me.

"Oh Goddess..." she hugged me tightly, "I thought maybe that big guy had gotten to you."

"I was just lagging behind is all, Mia. I'm okay." I patted her back, trying to tell her to _get off_ before I suffocated.

Mia let go quickly, "Hey, have you seen Ranulf around? It shouldn't have taken someone as strong as him _that_ long to beat up a few Daien soldiers!"

I raised an eyebrow at her sudden worry, "No..." and then I saw a flash of blue over the little river cutting through the village, "But I think he's coming."

Ranulf reverted to his human form upon nearing the ship, "Girls! Your not on the ship yet?"

"Nope." None of the worry from before filled Mia's voice. She was monotone and _trying_ to sound as though she didn't care. Well that made things pretty obvious.

The cat pouted, "Does Mia not care about me?"

I crossed my arms and shook my head, "Don't be deceived. She was just worrying."

"MEIA!" Mia yelped, grabbing my shoulder.

"You're making a scene." I told her calmly. Ranulf just laughed at us.

"You girls should probably board soon." he suggested, nodding towards the ship.

I brushed Mia's hands from my shoulders and nodded, "You're right." I smiled awkwardly, "Well... I guess this is good-bye for a while, then."

Mia's mouth fell open, "What?" she looked at Ranulf, "You're not coming with us?"

Ranulf grinned, " So she does care. No, I'm not coming because I have other things I need to do. I know your captain knows these seas better than me. This cat also gets sick on the water. he'd rather have his paws on solid ground."

Mia whimpered, "But... but..." she slowly stepped forward and hugged him, "I'll miss you."

Ranulf looked up at me and smiled. No words needed to be exchanged. He still found her weird, that's for sure, but I knew she was growing on him. Then when his eyes were pleading me to get her off, I spoke up. "Mia! Can't I hug our furry friend?"

Mia's head dropped, but she let go, "Fine..."

I hugged Ranulf fairly tightly myself. He was the nicest laguz out of the pack, and my friend at this point. Too bad he'd leave us for a while. No one to pitch my tent for me.... How sad. Once I released, I got on my toes and pecked him on the cheek, "See ya, pussy cat."

Mia was obviously contemplating giving him a peck too, but her face flushed and she waved instead, saying a few last good-byes before following me onto the ship.

It was an hour later, and we had been given our cabins. We were busy moving into our new home for the next two months that we didn't see Ranulf's little fight with the Black Knight, but I already knew how it ended. Now it was getting darker out and Mia and I were sitting on our beds, staring at the ceiling.

Mia sighed, "There's nothing to do."

"I know."

Moment of silence. Mia turned her head my way, "Is it just me or do Lethe and Zihark seem like a cute couple?"

I shrugged, still staring at the ceiling with an arm behind my head, "Dunno. I like him better with Ilyana. But he talks to Lethe an awful lot, doesn't he?"

Mia bolted up, "Oh my gosh! I just an epiphany!"

I sat up too, raising an eyebrow at her, "Really? I didn't even know you knew what that meant."

Ignoring my comment, she grinned, "Why don't we pass the time by pairing people up or something? It's perfect! War is so boring and icky, anyway. We need some LOVE!" she jumped off her bed, "I'm going to go get some paper and a quill so we can start planning, okay?"

As she left, I smiled to myself. That was a great idea. And when the time came, maybe Mia would be our target. She may not know it, but for me... Operation Matchmaker had been underway for a while now.

* * *

FE Frog: Mwahahahahaha. I don't know why, but Mia and Ranulf seem like such a cute pairing! Or is that just how I wrote them? Well, thank Holy Star for getting me off my arse to keep writing. If it wasn't for him, I probably would have forgotten all about this. So.... I hope you enjouyed it. the next chapter is a definite filler, cause nothing interesting happens for the next two months in the game. I've planned soem stuff already, and RanulfxMia is a definite go! any otehr suggestions for operation matchmaker? I only have LethexZihark right now. And later will be definite NephxGeoffrey, just because... it's me. You may have read this before, but did you know I don't actually like NephxGeoffrey that much at all? I just felt like writing something about them, and still I'm not partial to the pairing. Anyway, enough rambling. Maybe I'll actually update sooner, cause this is getting more fun to write. ADIOS AMIGOS!

AND ! Tanks yous


	11. Operation Matchmaker

FE Frog: Okay, I'm sorry for the hiatus... as always. My focus wavers between different things... That's about all I can say.

ANYWAYS, this has been lying around in my Google Docs for a while... And it was even finished (except for a part I added later. You may or may not be able to tell what it was) but I was determined to finish the next chapter before finishing this one. The good news is that I'm already into chapter 13, so... Cross your fingers that I might be posting more regularly for the next month... Except for exams. And EQAO... I'm unlucky enough to have 4 exams this semester AND EQAO to do. (For those non-Ontarioans... EQAO is just a big math test thingie you need to do every couple of years. It also counts for most of my CPT/summative)

But cross your fingers nevertheless!

Now, you may get on with the story...

...

...

...

You didn't think I'd forget, did you?

Thank you to the following reviewers who are miraculously able to put up with my posts every other year or so XD

**Omegasaxon  
PINKDIAMOND4000  
****HaveAHeart0301  
Commandant of Heart  
spygirly** (It think you've been around the longest. You are a saint if you're able to keep reading this after God knows how long.)  
**Foxwolfjackson** (You've stuck around for quite a while too, so thank you!)  
**Blue Orbi Angel **(Another long-time reader! You guys make my day)**  
Holy Star **(And yet another. My views on kpop have vastly expanded, I must say. A lot more than before! ^^)

Okay, so you can read now. I just had to get that over with ^^

As always...

ENJOY!

* * *

**Operation Matchmaker Day 1**

Mia and I had already planned out what we were going to do when it came to pairing up the people in the army. Our first targets were Lethe and Zihark. Because Zihark needed to get over his old girlfriend. Although that posed a problem of its own. Too bad I couldn't tell Mia that. She was already planning everything out.

We started after breakfast, because who can work on an empty stomach, eh? And that also let us keep an eye on Lethe and Zihark so we knew where they were and where they were going. Mia and I had worked out a compromise too. I would get Zihark, and Mia had Lethe. Mostly because Lethe hated me more. Although she still hated us both.

Anyway, so the plan was to ask them about whatever it was they liked. It was pretty cliche if you ask me. But that's okay, because cliche is good sometimes! But, hey, maybe it'd work and we'd get awesome ideas as we did our homework.

I was wandering around on the boat deck, trying to find where Zihark ran off to. Cheez, I turn around for one second and he's GONE! And so here I am, wandering around on this ridiculously sized ship.

"Stop that boy!" someone yelled. I heard pounding coming towards me, but just as I turned to face the oncoming traffic... BAM! Sure it's cliche, but it might turn into something funny. Let's watch and find out... Read and find out?

He groaned. I say he because, well... It sounded like a he. Just a really young he. I turned my hair to see bits of green. If I had an owl neck, maybe I could see the whole body, but I didn't, so I just guessed.

"Get off of me!" I shouted, pushing the kid off of me. It wasn't that hard, after all, he was just a kid. I got up and brushed myself off, only to be almost knocked over by Nasir, who kindly grabbed me before I fell. I looked up at the Captain. For a Grandpa, he was pretty hot, I'll admit. Especially this close up. I had to subdue my flirty self before anything happened. Instead my kick-ass marks in drama showed and I kept the surprised look, this time it being fake. "Oh... Thanks..."

Nasir let go of me and turned to the kid who knocked me over, but the green-haired boy was already in a head-lock. Ike's headlock.

"Let go of me!" the boy elbowed Ike in the stomach, but Ike wasn't fazed by it at all.

Nasir ran a hand through his icy blue hair, "Thank you, General Ike. He's a stowaway I found scampering around. He probably boarded in Toha."

I sighed, "You know, he may come in handy."

Greenie glared at Ike, "Let go of me. I won't run."

Ike trusted his word and let go. "Who are you and why are you here?"

The thief continued to glare, "Stop looking at me like that... It makes me uncomfortable..."

I smirked, "Ignore it. He frowned too long and it stuck. His face is naturally messed up."

Ike glanced at me, but didn't say anything.

"I'm Sothe. I boarded because I heard we were headed to Begnion. I'm... looking for someone, and I think that's where they are right now."

"Alright, then." Ike said, "If you join us, we can help you look for your friend. Deal?"

Sothe almost lit up. Almost. "Okay, then. If you want, I pick locks. I can steal stuff too."

I huffed, "How reassuring..."

Ike's lips twitched. In a good way. He was amused. "Meia, why don't you take the kid around and find him somewhere to stay?"

"What?" I pouted, "Oh, come on... I have other-"

Ike smirked this time, "That's an order."

With a roll of my eyes, I turned. "Come on, midget."

"What?" Sothe snapped back, "I'm as tall as you! Maybe taller!"

I looked back. "And how old are you? 12? 13?"

"14."

"Oh..." I bit my lip, "Sorry, then. I guess you're the same age as me."

"You're not all that bright, are you?"

I spun around, "What?"

Sothe grinned, "Well, that and the fact that I've already taken both your vulneraries and your gold pouch don't add up to a very clever person."

My eye twitched, "You have some serious issues, kid." I put out my hand, "Give it all back." He reluctantly forked it all over. I sighed, "I'm not stupid. Hand over the speed wing too."

He did, "So you're slightly more clever. Still doesn't make a difference to me."

"Aren't you hilarious." I grumbled. Now where to stick him? Heh heh. Rolf didn't have a roommate yet... Boyd didn't count.

I shoved Sothe into the room, "Have fun." I narrowed my eyes when I realized, "Give me my steel bow back." Sothe mumbled as he handed it over. I slammed the door on him, putting away my stuff again. God, that kid was annoying.

By dinner, I finally found Zihark by the prow of the ship. I ran up to him, holding a microphone and a notepad. I put the 'microphone' in front of him, "What's your favourite colour?"

He blinked, "Erm... What are you doing?"

"Yeah, my mom too..." I said as I wrote it down. I looked back up, "Favourite animal?"

Zihark looked at my microphone, "What is that?"

"Mm... Good choice..."

"No, seriously."

I looked up at him, then down at my 'microphone'. "Uh... I don't know. I found it among Mia's things..."

"Are you sure it's safe?"

I quickly threw it overboard, wiping my hand on Zihark's tunic, "Now that that's gone..." I had my notepad ready, "What about your ideal date?"

"What?" He saw I wasn't saying anything, instead waiting for his answer. "Well, I guess a walk in the forest or something?"

I wrote it down. "Funky. Anything else you would like to add? Pretend I'm trying to pair you up with someone."

"Is that what you're doing?" Zihark asked, a little worried, "Because I-"

"I said pretend, did I not?"

"Right, right..."

"So how did your interview go?" Mia asked as we filled our plates at the front of the crowded dining cabin.

I sighed, "Sothe, step away from my pockets."

"Still not clever!" Sothe sneered as he walked away.

Mia watched him leave, a little confused. "You do know he has your money, right?"

I grinned at her. "I do. Which is why I was carrying your gold pouch around."

"Hey!"

I laughed, scooping some... Was that chicken and asparagus? Mashed together? That's absolutely disgusting. I grimaced, skipping the mashed chicken and green-stuff. "I'm kidding. I filled a bag with rocks for him."

"Oh, clever."

"Apparently not clever enough." I scooped something else onto my plate. This time I had no idea what Mist had decided to mash together. Suddenly I had a random thought of Mist throwing everything and a shoe into a bowl and mashing it together maliciously. Scary Mist was... Scary.

"Anyways..." Mia broke into my thoughts, "As for the interview... I had to tie Lethe to a chair to freakin' interrogate her."

I looked at her in awe, "How on Earth did you manage that?"

Mia grinned evilly, "I promised Ilyana a lot of food... And catnip also comes in handy."

I face palmed... Into the wrong hand. Greeeeat. Now I had Mist's shoe-flavoured slop on my face. And Sothe was walking away snickering.

That night, our third one on the S.S. Crazy, I started having nightmares. They weren't my usual nightmares, which weren't always that scary after the fact. No, these were more like night-terrors.

The dream started off like most of our regular days. Get up, get ready, go out and fight. As I brought down a whole squad of soldiers (okay, so maybe not exactly like a regular day, because I could hardly even bring down two soldiers), they just kept coming. It was squad after squad/ Eventually, I couldn't even see the grass under my feet. I was walking on the bodies that were piling up, fighting on them. Their blood soaked into my boots, but it was still warm. As disgusted as I was, I had to keep fighting.

The corpses piled up and up until I was standing almost 4 feet above the ground, on bodies.

That's also when I was no longer fighting soldiers. Instead, the people charging at me with weapons were women, children, grandparents, aunts and uncles... The family of the soldiers I mercilessly killed without a second thought.

I held up my bow, hands shaking as I pulled back the string. My sword was gone by now, buried beneath the bodies in someone's chest. I pointed around, trying to decide who to kill next before they got to me. First I pointed at a little boy who looked an awful lot like my six year old cousin, then at a woman who resembled my own mother, and then I aimed at an old man who looked like my great uncle. Why was my family trying to kill me?

The more I looked around, the more of my family appeared. In one last attempt, I closed my eyes and screamed as I shot randomly. The yell that followed was probably the worst. It came from the most important person in my life, the one I loved most. It came from my sister.

I opened my eyes to see Christiane collapsed on the ground, pulling the arrow out of her stomach and not even bothering to staunch the flow of blood that followed.

No... This can't be happening. "Christiane!" I shouted, running to her and falling to my knees, throwing my arms around her. "Christiane, I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry!"

What happened next I hadn't expected. How could I? First came pain, and then confusion as I looked down at my sister's face. First she stared up at me, eyes brimming with anger, and then her gaze moved down. I followed with my own, only to see her hand release it's grip on the arrow sticking out of my own chest.

I didn't yell or scream, demanding why she did it, why I deserved it. I just cried, because I knew exactly why.

Reality rushed back without any sort of transition. Tears streamed down my cheeks, even as I lay in bed.

"Meia?" Came Mia's voice, softer than usual, "Meia, why are you crying?"

I touched my chest, feeling for the arrow that didn't exist. I opened my eyes and sat up, not even bothering to hold in my sobs.

Mia, realizing at this point something was really wrong, rushed to my side, holding me against her as she stroked my hair to soothe me. It was impossible to soothe me, but at least she tried. "Meia, tell me what's wrong."

"I can't take it anymore..." The battlefield of bodies as far as the eye could see, the avenging relatives, my own family turning against me... My sister plunging the arrow I killed her with into my own heart... "I just... can't..."

Somehow, Mia knew exactly what I meant. Did she feel like this when she started fighting? "It's okay, Meia... They're dead and they always will be." Did that mean that she was plagued by the dead returning to life? "You're safe with us." Not to mention, Mia had been quite alone when she started.

I managed to calm my sobs into sniffles, "I know! That's what I hate!" I told her about my dream, the guilt I felt when I saw the soldier's children, wives and parents coming to avenge them, my own sister whose blood stained my hands.

Mia understood. She told me about how when she first killed a man, she had nightmares as well. I was right about hers. The men in her dreams, the same ones she ran through with her sword, would come back to try and kill her again. No matter how many times Mia killed them, they came back until she woke screaming, and even when she realized it was a dream, she would cry, yell, and throw what few things she was travelling with. I couldn't imagine Mia losing her temper like that. Not to that degree. I guess taking someone's life really does change a person.

"The only thing that got me through," Mia said, tears in her eyes, "was when I realized that while I took them away from their family, took away their everything... They could have killed me just as easily. They can take everything from you, strip away who you are, and leave you to the Dark Angels." She focused on me, "It's a two way thing, you know? Either you die or them. The worst thing is when you become immune to their suffering, when you don't see the as a person anymore, merely as something standing between you and survival. You become hardened. A hardened killer."

It didn't matter what she said, I still couldn't get those eyes out my head. My sister's eyes, the ones filled with betrayal, shame and revenge. Yes, that was it. That's what the anger was.

A few silent minutes passed before Mia got up from my bed, "Try and sleep, okay? We still have to work on getting Lethe and Zihark together, remember?"

I gave her a weak smile, but laid myself down on the bed anyways. I pulled the covers up as Mia blew out the two candles that had given us light.

The soldiers were trying to kill us too, I thought to myself, they wanted us just as dead as we wanted them. Live and let die. Gradually, my eyelids began heavy, until there was no strength left to keep them open. I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

As the days wore on, turning into weeks. I was getting sick of being at sea. Literally.

The nightmares didn't come back, though, which was good. Christiane's eyes still haunted me, but that's to be expected.

What really kept me from thinking about death was my green complexion and my stomach.

"Why can't we get off this damned ship?" I groaned, sitting in bed with a bucket in my lap.

Mist patted my back, "Don't worry, we're halfway there."

I groaned again. We'd already been on the ship for a whole month!

Suddenly, the ship shook. There was a grinding sound under us for a few moments before everything went quiet. Too quiet. I looked over at Mist, "We're not moving." And then my shaken stomach decided to push it's contents upwards.

Mist jumped up, not even bothering to ask me if I was okay. "What was that?" And she ran out the door.

I rolled my eyes, got out of bed with my bucket, then ran after her. Sick or not, I was pretty curious too. Plus I had to dispose of my puke... On deck, I tossed the contents of the bucket over the side before putting it down and going to see Mist, Ike, Soren, Titania and Nasir.

Ike almost seemed happy to see me. "Meia! Great. You can use a bow... I need you on deck for the fight."

My jaw dropped. "Wh-Wha...? To fight ravens?"

"Yes."

"But I'm-" They started talking over me. I sighed and left to get my weapons. I guess I would just have to pull through... I groaned as I put on my little pieces of armor. Shoulder pads, chest protector, leather pads for my arms... Ugh, so much stuff. Finally, after attaching all my light armor, I tied my sword to my waist, then strapped on my quiver before finally stringing my bow and slinging it over my shoulder. I was ready.

On deck, the crows were just closing in. Rolf was also there with Oscar, both with bows in hand. Soren and Ilyana had Elwind tomes out. Aside from them, Titania, Ike, Boyd, Mia, the laguz, and Nephenee were all out. Oh, not to mention Rhys for healing. I ran over to him first. "Hey."

The Priest smiled, "Hello. I'm sorry you were pulled into this fight... I know you're sick."

I shrugged, "Oh well. I'll live. But just in case, I'll protect you so you can heal me if anything happens."

"Sounds like a plan."

And so the battle begun. I was lucky, because the others picked off all the crows before they had a chance to reach Rhys and I, but I had my bow drawn anyways. If anything, it was the others coming back for healing. But not even that so much anymore ever since Ilyana started using a staff.

"This is actually really boring." I yawned. As glad as I was not to be fighting, lest I start throwing up again... I still wanted to do SOMETHING.

Rhys sighed, "I'm kind of glad I don't have to do much."

I leaned against the side of the ship, looking out over the water.

"Meia! Look out!"

I spun around just in time to see a crow diving at me. I ducked, but it's talon still caught my shoulder. There was enough force in the swipe to knock me to the side. Trying my best to ignore the pain in my right shoulder, I pulled out my sword and ran to Rhys' side. I decided these crows deserved to die for picking a fight with us.

"You humans are so pathetic..." The crow chuckled, diving in for another hit. I wasn't able to dodge it, this time his beak snapping at my left arm. Thankfully, the close encounter allowed me to swipe at him with my sword. I cut into his wing, and he shrieked.

"If we were so pathetic, then why are you getting beat?" I smirked, tossing my sword to the ground and pulling out my bow as quickly as possible and shooting. The crow dodged it before coming in for another hit. I just managed to dodge, taking out an arrow and stabbing him right through the wing with it before picking up my sword and bringing it down on him. The blade went right through him and he went limp. I shivered as I sheathed my sword and picked up my bow. "That's disgusting."

Rhys was pale behind me after watching me practically mutilate the crow. Not to mention the crow slicing me open. His hands were shaky when he finally used his heal staff on me. Unfortunately, he couldn't finish when I spotted another crow coming after us. He was a little injured, blood dripping from his right wing. By the blueish hue of his feathers, I guessed this was Seeker. I grinned, pulling back on my bow.

It missed. The second time I tried, it missed again. I swore.

"Humans... You'll never get me! We'll watch your ship sink, with all your gold in our talons!"

I sighed, "I don't think so." I pulled back again, not releasing until the right time. The raven started flying towards me... I let go. The arrow pierced his stomach, but he kept going. I grabbed my sword and sliced at Seeker as he attacked, biting at my neck. He managed to cut deeply into my shoulder, if anything. I screamed when I felt his beak scraping at my bone, my other arm instinctively flailing. If I wasn't in so much pain, maybe I would have realized I had stabbed him with my sword. Too bad he still wasn't dead.

A gust of wind knocked me back, its sharp, almost invisible blade tore at Seeker. Another gust finished him off. With Seeker out of the way, Rhys ran over to me, healing me immediately. And then came Soren.

"You really ought to pay more attention." He sneered, tucking his Elwind into his robe.

I couldn't help but grin. "Good team work, Soren. Who knew you had it in you?"

The mage wasn't amused. He turned on his heal and walked away.

With a small laugh, I got up, touching my shoulder. The cut was gone, but it still hurt. "Can staffs heal bones?" I asked quickly, wondering if maybe it was a scratch in the bone or something that made it hurt.

Rhys shook his head, "Not really... A heal or mend staff can't very easily. You need an excellent quality staff do heal major problems. One of the reasons why Mist was only able to heal your broken arm after a lot of it's own healing."

I sighed. Oh well, it was just an uncomfortable feeling, so I ignored it. I looked around the deck. No crows. Just a giant dragon-thing... Oh, it was a wyvern...

"Meia, are you okay?" Mia ran up to me, "I heard you screaming and-"

"I'm fine, Mia... Don't worry."

Mia still had a worried look in her eye, but she quit with the pestering. Maybe it was because my face was turning green again. I got that feeling in my stomach again, and made it just in time to puke over the side of the boat.

Why, God? Why me?

* * *

FE Frog: Happy now? Cheez... I think my writing skills have improved over the course of this little fic. Compared to the first chapter (which was also written a year or two ago... Possibly even three :S ) I do believe I've improved.

So what are your thoughts on the chapter? Constructive criticism is always welcome!

And yes, I'm aware there are probably typos... No need to tell me again. Sorry if that sounds a bit bratty, but as much as I love you guys... Yeah. And no, I didn't really look over this chapter. So i'm hoping for the best. I only skimmed over again when finding somewhere to put my newer idea. But I think when I copied and pasted from Google Docs into WordPad (because the computer I'm on right now doesn't have any Microsoft Office programs yet... I need to bug my dad about that...) none of my italics or bolding-things came up... So that kind of ruins half of it, because I love my _italics_.

'Till next year!

Nah, I kid. I'll probably post the next chapter either at the end of this week or next week. Depends when I feel like not making you guys wait anymore.

Mwa!

P.S.- I figured, before you got worried reading into the next chapters, Operation Matchmaker will be put off for a while. Getting Lethe and Zihark, and also others, together is hard work!


	12. Meet the Dragons

FE Frog: I'm going to be quick about this because UI started writing the end-note first - Idiot. So read anything I want to say down there.

Not as many reviewers as I usually have (only 3 this time around) but that's also probably because I haven't posted anything in God knows how long... I kinda of miss some of my old reviewers *sniff*

Thank you to...

**SuperNova23  
Holy Star  
Meru-64**

What a lonely list. But I love these guys... Because they bothered to review.

Now read while I go and play Sims Medieval like I've been wanting to sine I got home an hour ago. Because I posted this for you guys, I have an hour less to play Sims Medieval before I have to get ready for fencing. Blech.

* * *

"I'm going out to check things out."

I turned, eyebrow raised, when I heard Ike say this. We were still stranded after an hour in the same place. Thankfully, people had gotten together and tossed the corpses of the ravens into the waves that crashed into our ship. I couldn't stand looking at their mangled bodies, either. Especially the ones who had reverted back. The one whose head had been chopped off was the most revolting of all. I puked after seeing him, and it had nothing to do with sickness.

Nasir was constantly looking around, eyeing the expanse of land to our left suspiciously. "That might not be such a good idea, Ike. When high tide hits, we may have a chance of getting free. No guarantees, but it's a possibility."

Ike rolled his eyes impatiently, "And when's that going to be?"

The icy-blue haired captain looked up in the sky, squinting in the bright light. "Judging by the sun, I'm going to guess we're stuck here for another 6 hours."

"Then I'm going to see if I can find anything." Ike turned and shouted for crew members to prepare the plank.

"Ike!" Nasir ran after him, grabbing his shoulder, "Ike, that's a bad idea! We're in Goldoan territory."

"Good." Ike said quickly, smirking ever so slightly, "Then there should be people to help." Whatever Nasir said after that fell on deaf ears.

Bored of just watching them, I jumped down from my seat on the ship wall. First, I went to help out the crew in placing the plank, just to feel somewhat useful, and then I went to Ike himself.

Ike glared at me, "If Nasir sent you to discourage me from going on land, then leave."

I huffed, putting my hands on my hips. "Well, then. I guess I won't have to leave. I actually came to ask if I can go on land with you."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Not one bit."

Ike narrowed his eyes, possibly trying to see if he cpuld figure out why I wanted to come along. "I don't think it's a good idea." He said finally, "I'm going alone."

I was quick to block his path down the plank when he turned away from me. "I'm coming along. I'm sick of being on this ship. I only want to sit in the grass or something for ten minutes and I'll be back on the ship."

There was a moment of silence where Ike seemed to be debating on whether to let me or not. There was no point to that, though, because I would have gone anyways. "Fine. But quick, before anyone else decides to ask." He grabbed my shoulder and spun me around, still holding on to push me down the plank.

"Cheez, will you stop that?" I swatted at his hand that didn't want to move. "I don't like being woman-handled."

"Shut up." Ike hissed. There was no other explanation.

Finally, I was on the ground. There was a sudden, very strange feeling in my feet that moved up my body until it reached my head. I felt more alive than I had in over a month, and the churning in my stomach that had plagued me that past two weeks immediately vanished when I dropped into the thick, cushioned grass.

I sighed, a huge smile inevitably stretching across my face, "Thank you, Ike..."

"I only let you come because you're armed. You're lucky you kept your sword on you." He said, starting to look around. There wasn't really all that much to look at. It was a grassy plateau that would end in a cliff that drops into the water. The plateau continued north, where a few bushes started to spring up, and then more cliffs beyond them.

"Ike!" Mist shouted from on the boat. I couldn't really understand whatever else she was saying because of the wind, waves and the distance.

"Does she ever shut up?" I murmured, crossing my arms behind my head and closing my eyes.

"Afraid not." Ike answered rather monotonously. "Could you maybe help me look for some sort of food?"

Groaning, I got up and followed Ike further on land. I left my sword sheathed, but I made sure to be ready in case those dragons showed up.

"Ike, I wouldn't suggest you go farther!" Nasir yelled after us from the side of the boat. He wasn't usually very loud, so it surprised me that we could even hear him from this distance.

Not to surprisingly, Ike ignored him. Instead, he pointed to a gathering of bushes, "Meia, check to see if there are any berries in there."

"Okay." I answered simply. So much for relaxing. I crouched down in front of one of the bushes. I only recognized the berries my mom always told me I couldn't eat when I was little. Oh well... "Nothing good here." I said over my shoulder.

No response.

I looked over to see Ike looking at the ship all confused. Mist was jumping up and down screaming something that neither of us could hear. Not even Nasir was loud enough... Mainly because he was gone. Oh crap, I knew what that meant.

I ran over to Ike as soon as I saw the group of inhumanely large men dressed in red approaching. "Ike, look!" I shouted, pointing.

_Finally_, Ike turned around, nearly dropping his sword when he saw the men.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" One of the men demanded.

"Huh?" Ike was probably still stunned over their sheer size. Close up, I'd say the average height of the group was 7'1".

"This is Goldoan territory. No outsiders are permitted."

Ike was able to speak again, and now he sounded frantic, "You don't understand! Our ship has run aground. There's nothing we can do. We're stuck here."

"Then return to your ship. What happens to beorc is none of our affair." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

I wanted to speak out, but I held my tongue. There wasn't much I could do, anyways.

"That's ridiculous! You're a complete-" Ike began, but the leader of the group cut him off.

"You have been warned. You will not be warned a second time." He made a threatening fist.

A young boy ran in. I hadn't even noticed the kid coming, which was hard when everything was in plain sight. Huh.

"Cease this at once! What do you think you're doing?" The boy asked. Another man, who was almost twice the size of the men we had been dealing with until now, followed the boy. He looked like he had been out in the sun far longer than is healthy.

The creep who was yelling at us before turned to the boy and knelt down on one knee, bowing his head, "My lord prince..."

"Man of the beorc. My countrymen were discourteous. I ask that you forgive them." The boy bowed his head to us, getting a glare from the giant that came with him. As prince, he probably wasn't supposed to act like that.

Ike narrowed his eyes at the newcomers, "Who are you?"

The kid smiled, "I am Kurthnaga, Prince of Goldoa."

"The prince? Now we're getting somewhere. Thanks to some Kilvas pirates, our ship's run aground. Can you lend us any help?" Ike relaxed, now that there was no chance of getting pulverized by huge freaks, or burned to a crisp if that's what they prefer doing.

Kurth's smile vanished, his eyebrows coming together.

"What, can you help us or not?" Ike demanded.

Kurth shook his head, "I am not used to being addressed in such a direct manner. I was...taken off guard. My apologies."

I looked at the others as Ike and Kurth spoke. I knew the dragons were huge, but even while playing the game, I never thought they'd be THIS big. One of the dragons caught me staring and barred his teeth, smirking when he saw how I jumped and hid behind Ike.

"Gareth, direct the others to push their ship free!" Kurth ordered his eight foot man-servant.

The giant, Gareth, only had to nod to the other dragons. They nodded and put their fists together.

"What are they doing?" Ike asked, but he only said it loud enough for me to hear. He put his arm out in front of me, "Careful."

I huffed, "What, you think they're going to _eat_ me?"

The giants exploded into sparkles, and then when the sparkles disappeared, there were dragons standing in front of us. The shortest was at _least_ nine feet tall.

We boarded the ship again, Mist hugging me tightly because she was afraid Ike and I would be eaten. The dragons pushed our ship free and Kurth got us some food and water, waving us good bye sadly. I doubt he wanted us to leave.

I must say, I was kind of sad to see them shrink in the distance, too. Kurth was nice, and not actually as uptight as he was in the game. I mean, he was still formal and all, but not stiffly so. I was also sad to see the land go. Another month on sea... Joy.

* * *

FE Frog: Well, I did promise another chapter by the end of the week or next week. I figured that next week I'll be WAY too busy studying for exams and doing CPTs and whatnot, so I posted it now. The next chapter is almost done, and fairly long. Actually, It's normal for me, but long for some people. Until summer (my holidays start the 23rd *dances around happily*) I won't be posting much else. I'll try to write chapter 14 before posting 13 (I've gotten to like posting that way!) but we'll see. I have lots of studying to do.

So, hope you enjoyed! There should only be chapter 13 on sea and then we're back on land, which I'm quite excited for! Mainly because some of my favourite characters of all time are coming up *cough* I ain't telling you *cough*

SO REVIEW PLEASE! Reviews make my world go 'round. Plus, without reviews, I have no reason to live... I mean, post.

Okay, I can't help but fangirl here... (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's O.K.! If you do, FANGIRL (or fanboy) WITH ME! That is if you want)

Every time I'm on , they always have the ad for City Hunter up... Which makes me drool because I _love_ Lee Minho. I actually really want to watch City Hunter! Mainly because of Lee Minho. But also because it look interesting! (And didn't they film parts of it in Thailand or Vietnam or something? Maybe it was Indonesia... I forget.) I've loved him since Boy Over Flowers (which even after over a year, I'm only on ep. 24... Which is kind of pathetic, really, seeing as I can finish it easily) and, well... I just love him! And Hyun Bin... Because Secret Garden is amazing. A shame he's off to the army.

Okay, the fangirl in me has been subdued. Don't ask.


	13. Chapter 13

FE Frog: Okay, so unlike the chapters before, chapter 14 isn't quite finished (What? I've been studying for exams! ... And fooling around with my friend Ben while selling tickets at my German school Saturday morning... And I mean joking around, because he's not, like, my boyfriend or anything. Ew... He's like my brother, I could never like him like that... That would be sooooo weird in so many ways *shivers*)

And I've also been playing Blazing Sword. I'm on chapter 30... SO you can see that I've been playing it like crazy. After that I'll play Sacred Stones and then Sword of Seals... Do you have AY idea how happy I am to finally be able to play them?

God, I'm rambling again. Okay, I'll stop now. Hopefully.

I promised myself I'd have this posted by the 20th at the latest, even if I wanted to finish chap. 14 first. But I couldn't, and with exams starting tomorrow (I should really be studying! Meh, it's English...) I wanted to get SOMETHING up.

And now I've realized that some readers have exams right now too *facepalms* Whoops.

So read on if you want/you have time!

BTW - I Haven't played this chapter in SOOOOO long, so I just found the scripts online and what was in the chests, but as much as I tried, I could not for the life of me find out which chest had which item...

* * *

The days passed quickly. I stayed in my cabin most of the time, feeling deprived. Of what, I'm not entirely sure. Possibly strawberries, but also possibly something to do. On occasion I would help out Nasir's crew, even offering to do chores around the ship. Yes, that's how little I had to do. It's sad. I also helped Oscar and Mist in the kitchen, although we didn't make anything other than Mist's shoe-flavoured glop. Even when making it with her, it's still a mystery on what exactly she puts in it. I can't believe Oscar let's her make it.

Other than that, I stayed mostly in my cabin and slept.

Mia opened the door and fell back on her bunk, "I am sooo tired."

"Of what? There's nothing to do." I said, trying to read through a book I convinced Sothe to steal from Soren for me. Soren read strange things. Most of his books were a medieval sci-fi of sorts (Even people on Tellius were convinced of aliens... And they hadn't quite grasped the idea of there being anything beyond earth yet. Or even Earth being round) and some creepy romance books. I guess even Soren had to find ways to relieve tension. I didn't read the romance books for that exact reason, instead I gave them to Mia who practically devoured each and every one without a question.

"Well, you can always train with us. Ike's stance is reverting back to the way it was before because you're not around to nag him. And he's constantly yelling at me for everything I do wrong because you're not around for him to yell at because you do everything wrong."

"Thanks." I said, turning the page, "I really want to train with you guys now."

Mia sighed, "Don't blame me if you lose your edge, then. You're the one that never wants to practice."

"Whatever." I murmured. This book was starting to get good, and I didn't even like sci-fi. Okay, so I watched some Dr. Who with my dad and sister... I didn't watch that much! Only a season or two...

"You're so boring, you know that?" She got up... And then threw herself back down on the bed, turning away from me.

I rolled my eyes and closed my book. I didn't really want to give in to Mia, so I decided on trying something else. "Do you think if I ask nicely enough, Soren will agree to teach me some of the Ancient Language? Or at least what he knows of it."

She looked back at me, face blank, "You're kidding, right? He hates your guts."

"What if I threaten him?"

"He'll probably rat you out. Ike wouldn't be too happy. Or maybe Soren would pay Volke to secretly dispose of you. You know he could."

"Damn." I looked down. I kind of wanted to learn the Ancient Language, just for the hell of it... And maybe try my hand at magic. Did Ilyana know any? She's a sage by now, so she should know something. Maybe even Rhys can help me out, since he's been learning to prepare for becoming a bishop.

Rhys would be the best bet. I wouldn't have to threaten him and/or offer him food.

First I needed to find out where his cabin was.

"Sothe!" I shouted, knowing that no matter how far he was, he would come. I paid him a little for sneaking into Soren's room, so he had learned to listen when he heard his name.

Sothe poked his head around the corner, "Yes? Another book request?"

"Afraid not." I went over to where he was standing, "Where's Rhys' cabin?"

The thief narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Why? And what's the information worth to you?"

I groaned, "You've been talking to Volke, haven't you?"

"I dunno..." He leaned against the wall, twirling a knife in his hand, "What's that information worth to you?"

"Whatever. I'll give you two coins for taking me to Rhys' cabin." I reached into my gold pouch and produced said coins, "Is that enough?"

Sothe took the coins, examined them for a moment (probably making sure they were real,) then pocketed them, "Sure." He motioned for me to follow as he lead me through the ship's interior, soon stopping near the Medical Ward.

I face palmed, "How come I didn't think to come here?"

"I told you you weren't very clever. You didn't believe me."

Glaring at him, I pushed past. Rhys wasn't inside the actual medical ward. Damn.

"So..." Sothe was leaning against the wall twirling a knife again, just like before. "Why do you want him so badly, anyways? Aren't you a little young for him?"

As much as it bugged me that he suggested I liked him like that, I couldn't help playing his own card against him, "How much is the information worth to you?"

Sothe smirked, "Nice. Well, how about three coins?"

Now that was a little suspicious. "Okay... Let's see the gold."

Sothe was quick to pull out the three coins and put them in the palm of my hand, "There you go."

I examined the carefully just as he had before. They were completely real. I slipped them into my pouch, "Okay, here goes. I'm bored and want to learn the Ancient Language. I figured Rhys would be learning some of it to prepare for the spells he can use when he's a bishop. Ilyana and Soren would be too costly to hire as tutors, but Rhys would teach me for free."

The thief contorted his face in bewilderment. "You're so weird." He shook it off because apparently this sort of thing was only to be expected of me. "Is that all?"

"Yup."

"Tch... What a waste of money. Not that it makes a dent in my savings..." Sothe grumbled, kicking at an invisible... something on the floor.

Savings? Sothe actually had lots of money? He couldn't have made that much off of me, because even I had limits on how much I could spend, and he didn't charge much for sneaking into Soren's room. He hated Soren more than I did for no apparent reason. So I asked.

Surprise, surprise... He responded with "How much is that information worth?" So I offered him a single coin, which he accepted, putting us back where we had started.

"You'd be surprised." Sothe walked with me to Rhys' actual cabin, "My main source of income is Kieran. He's very trusting. I tell him his shoes are untied, and he asks me to hold his gold pouch. He's an idiot. When I take off with it, he thinks I'm chasing ofter Oscar, who he thinks stole the pouch from me." The thief shook his head while laughing, "The funny thing is... Kieran's shoes don't have laces!"

Wow. "And you do this over and over again?"

"Yup. He also leaves his stuff out in the open, and his cabin door unlocked. I mean, it's booby trapped, but I can easily get around that. Jorge really likes me because I'm always selling him Kieran's stuff."

I was actually laughing too. I would have never guessed Kieran was that stupid. Even though we were at Rhys' cabin door, I stood in front to hear the rest of the story.

"Why does Kieran have his room booby-trapped?" I asked, still chuckling.

Sothe's laughter renewed again, "He thinks Oscar's going to steal his stuff. The guy's paranoid beyond belief. I'm surprised he made it as a knight! From what I know, even knights have to have some intelligence."

Our laughter died out and there was just silence. It started to get awkward, but I didn't know exactly what to say... And I doubt he did either.

"Erm..." Sothe ran his hand through his forest green hair, "I got to... Uh... Go. Bye." And he was off like that. It made me kind of sad, really, but then I remembered that Sothe was hardly ever like that. He never smiled. Ever. So in a way, I felt accomplished to have gotten him to laugh. Turns out he even had a playful side to him, what with him picking on Kieran and all.

I turned to the door and knocked. It opened immediately and Rhys smiled down at me. "Hello, Meia."

I raised a hand, "Hey. I was wondering if maybe you could-"

"Rhys! RHYS!"

I kept myself from groaning as Mist came running in.

She gasped when she saw me, "Meia! I was looking all over for you!" She looked at both of us, "Ike wants both of you on deck. Now."

On deck, I could see the ship had slowed considerably, and was now pulling up beside another ship with soldiers clothed in red fighting off nameless soldiers in white and black armour.

Ike was getting people into formation, shouting orders and handing out newly bought weapons to those who needed them. Nasir's crew was set to lay the plank as soon as we were close enough to the Begnion ship.

"Meia," Ike stopped in front of me, "I want you to back the group up. You're in charge of protecting the weaker people who can't fight. Follow the rest of the group, but keep Rhys, Mist and the thieves in sight." He shoved a steel bow in my direction.

I held up my own bow, "I have one already. See?"

"The commander of the Imperial Pegasus Knights says that there are crows among the troops. Your bow's looking a little beat down, so take this one along in case you need another." He patted my shoulder as I took the bow, "Good luck."

Huh. Strange. He said 'good luck' to everyone, right? Maybe just to the Greil Mercenaries. Aw, they considered me as one of them now! How sweet.

Soon enough, the plank was down and we were off. I waited behind with Rhys, Mist Sothe and Volke as the stronger people went ahead to clear a path. I tried to pick off a few from where I was, but at this distance it was hard. Maybe Mia was right, I should have trained more.

Sothe tapped his foot anxiously, "Can we go yet? I want to get that treasure before the stupid birds do."

I rolled my eyes, "If you're not careful about it, they'll get you before you get the treasure." When some people were cleared, I motioned for the others to follow. We crossed over to the Begnion ship, most of the Daien soldiers gone. Several wounded Begnion soldiers begged Rhys and Mist for healing.

Sothe eyed the treasure chests to the left, obviously tempted.

"Volke?" I asked the shady thief beside me, "Are you going to be okay on your own?"

"You're kidding, right?" He responded, more monotone than he should be. And then he left. Just like that.

"I'll take that as a yes, then..." I murmured under my breath, then returned to Sothe, "Okay, let's go. The Begnion soldiers will hopefully look after Mist and Rhys while we're gone."

Sothe was all too eager to get going. I rolled my eyes and followed, keeping an eye in the sky for crows, and looking back every few seconds to make sure Rhys and Mist were still okay. They still had several Begnion soldiers surrounding them, the wounded waiting for healing and the healed catching their breaths.

I turned to Sothe who was knelt down on the ground trying to pick the lock. "This better not take too long." I warned him.

Not so surprisingly, Sothe ignored me. His tongue stuck out in concentration as he worked the lock opened. I thought this would be faster. In the game, the chests open instantaneously. A shame the game was so inaccurate.

"Hurry up..." I started tapping my foot impatiently as Sothe continued to pick at the lock with his lock picking tools (I highly doubt he was using a bobby pin... Did those even exist here?)

"Got it." Sothe opened the chest and pulled out a red vial. "Well, that's disappointing." He grunted, slipping the vial into his pocket, then turned back to me, "Come on, there's bound to be some other interesting stuff in the chest ahead."

I grabbed his arm before he was able to run off, "Sothe, not yet..." I motioned over to where Mia and Ike had a myrmidon cornered while a axe-wielding soldier approached. "Let's go meet up with Rhys, Mist and Volke before moving on."

Sothe frowned, "Why? Can't you do anything? I thought you were somewhat strong. Or did Ike just leave you behind with us because you're weak?"

I glared at him, "I'll have you know... I've been improving. I'm not that good, but I'm better than some."

"Yeah right. I bet Ike just brought you alone so he doesn't hurt your feelings." Sothe said, venom in his voice.

I kept up my glare, but I couldn't help thinking... Was Sothe right? No, he wasn't. And I'd prove it to him. "Fine. Let's go."

Sothe smirked, ripping his arm from my grip and running up the stairs and onto the platform that lopped around to the other side.

I looked back at Rhys and Mist, who were now joined by Volke. The Begnion soldiers were heading out. They'd be fine, right? I certainly hoped so.

Unfortunately, there was a crow waiting for us on the platform. I yelled for Sothe to stay behind me as I sheathed my sword and pulled out my bow. I got lucky and hit it right in the chest on my second shot, the first one missing. My God, I needed more practice. I really shouldn't have made up excuses to keep from training.

The crow down, we were off again. We made it down the stairs, where I stabbed the new myrmidon that Mia and Ike were fighting in the back.

"Thanks." Ike said, looking around to see if anyone else was coming. No one. He looked back at me, "Where are the others?"

I pointed behind me, "Sothe's here with me."

Ike narrowed his eyes, "You know what I mean, Meia." Crap, this was scary, concerned Ike. The one that came to existence after Greil's death and his new responsibilities. "Where's Mist?"

I bit my lip and motioned with my head to where Volke lead Rhys and Mist slowly forward, "They were healing some Begnion soldiers, so I went ahead with Sothe to get some treasure."

Ike looked back, "I don't know about you, but I don't see any Begnion soldiers. Keeping them safe was your responsibility."

I nudged Sothe, "Be quick with the chest, we need to get back."

"Okay." Sothe went straight to the lock.

"Meia," Ike said, his tone getting a little more commanding, "Leave the chest. You're going back right now."

I sighed, "We'll be quick here."

Sothe lifted one hand, "Almost done."

Now it was Mia's turn to complain, "I don't think it's such a great idea, guys. We can get the chests later."

"Stop with the chest now!" Ike shouted. Sothe stopped and lifted his arms. The blue-haired commander turned back to me. Now I could see it, the worry in his eyes. For Mist. It made me feel so guilty. Sothe was wrong when he told me Ike thought I was weak. He didn't. He thought I was strong enough to protect his sister, and I proved that while my skills may gave been improving, my judgement was still lacking. It hurt. "Meia, get back-" He stopped, eyes widening. Before I knew it, he was running forwards, yelling "DUCK!"

Clever me, I turned around instead, only to see black, and a pair of talons jutting out of the ebony feathers. It was clearly a crow, not a duck.

The bird dug it's talons into my shoulders, knocking me to the ground. My eyes were closed, but I could still feel the beak bite into my cheek and tear, making me scream in pain. And then it bit my shoulder and tore another gaping wound. I screamed and screamed, unable to anything.

And then the talons loosened, and the pecking stopped. I felt drips on my face and opened my eyes. What I saw made me scream more. The crow's head was missing, blood gushing from the neck and cascading over me.

Ike stood over me, panting andbaldy fairly bloody. He kicked the crow off before offering me his hand, but I simply pointed behind him. He spun around, slashing the crow with his sword.

I climbed to my feet, pulling out my sword and swinging the blade at the next oncoming crow. The sharp metal only nipped the raven's wing and he had a chance at taking a go at me with his talons, cutting into my arm. As he flew away, I managed to get him, seriously injuring his wing, and therefore grounding him. Sothe finished him off with a quick stab with his knife, wiping the blood off on the bird's dryer feathers.

"Thanks." I said, out of breath. There better not be anymore crows. I don't think I can last much longer.

Mia took down a soldier on the plank that spanned between the ships before joining us by the chest, "You guys okay?"

Sothe nodded and Ike said he'd live. I was holding my stomach, where I hoped to God I wasn't feeling what I thought I felt. Mia noticed this right away.

"Oh, Goddess! Meia!" She rushed over, pulling my free arm around her shoulders, "We have to get you to Rhys right away."

Sothe put his arm around my waist on the other side, not wanting to take my arm away from my stomach. I guess I did feel what I thought I felt. "We'll be there in no time." He said reassuringly, then asked, "How much of that blood is yours?"

Ike came up beside Sothe, holding both my bow and sword, "Enough of it, Sothe, enough of it." And then he jogged forward, which was probably really hard for him seeing as he had a gash along his leg, pants torn and bloodied around his knee.

Rhys hurried over with his staff while Mist stayed to heal Ike. "Are you alright?"

I managed a small chuckle, "What do you think?" Thank God he got to work on me right away. Mist finished with Ike and he brought Mia and Sothe along to the other ship.

Mist took Mia's place holding me up as Rhys healed me, "Mia had a point when she said you should train more."

"Yeah, I know that now. I learned the hard way." I motioned to my face and shoulder and stomach, "I was just too lazy."

Mist sighed, "You can't be lazy in war, Meia. You're going to get killed."

I looked over to the other ship, jealous that I couldn't be over there with them. While I didn't like taking someone's life, I still enjoyed the thrill of a fight. Even after Rhys was finished healing me, and I felt rejuvenated, I stayed back. Ike had given me the responsibility of protecting his sister, and I wasn't going to mess it up again.

Mist and Rhys were watching Norris fighting whoever, while my eyes were on the person flying not far away from the enemy commander. Yup, the King of Kilvas himself was there. I managed to keep from sighing because, damn, he was actually really good looking! The smirk on his face while he watched the white-clad soldiers go down one by one, and especially when Norris starting yelling at him. Of course, he winced when one of his own men was slain, smile deteriorating each time, but it grew when Ike, Mia, Lethe, Mordecai or any of the other brought down one of the Dae- Nameless people. (Don't want to tell the others... They might think I'm a freak.)

Soon, the King flew away, making me frown. On the bright side, the battle was over.

I sighed, sheathing my sword and unstringing my bow as I walked across to our ship once more. the others were no doubt going to go into a frenzy looking for the lost Apostle now... Joy. Not really something I wanted to join in on, though.

I yawned as I walked down into the hull of the ship, through the narrow hallways to my cabin where I could put my armour and other equipment away. I put the weapons on the clothing chest Mia and I shared (everything orange was hers, everything not-orange was mine. Pretty simple.) and threw myself onto the bed.

"Ah!" Someone under me yelled.

I jumped up from the cot and looked down. No one. What? So I got down on my knees and looked under the bed. Two golden eyes blinked back at me. I was about to glare and demand that Sothe climb out from under the bed and leave, but the eyes didn't belong to Sothe.

"What the hell?" Was my next instinct.

The eyes rolled and the girl climbed out from under the bed, red cloak billowing out around her, "Hmph."

I chuckled, "A little dressed up, aren't you? Even Elincia doesn't get all fancy to run around the ship."

The violet-haired girl glared at me again, stuck her nose in the air, and turned, "Well I'm not Elincia."

"I know. You're the Apostle, right?"

She spun back to me, narrowing her eyes, "How did you know who I am?"

Now I rolled my eyes, "You're over-dressed and everyone's looking for you. I suggest you get up on deck. Your pegasus guards were especially frustrated." I crossed my arms, "Quite the little ball of trouble you are, eh?"

The Apostle looked completely stunned. "How... How dare you talk to me like that! I could have you killed right here for treason! You're lucky I don't cut your tongue out myself!"

"If you hadn't noticed, I'm not one to care who you are." Although I did have a feeling I was making a big mistake talking to her like this. "Respect your elders. I'm sure the Goddess wants to be represented by a humble child, not a spoiled one."

The Empress was fuming at this point, face going redder by the second, "Why you little..." She caught herself, tried to calm herself down, and then began again, "I think I will have you killed as soon as we get back to Begnion."

I reached back to the chest behind me and grabbed my sword, "I think I have the advantage here." I held up the bloodstained sword, "But of course I wouldn't. Now why don't you run along upstairs now?"

"No."

How was Sigrun able to stay so calm around this kid?

"And if you dare point that at me again, I will call Tanith to execute you immediately."

A shame I couldn't risk it. I sheathed the sword and walked passed the Empress, peaking out the door. No one. Guess I'd have to yell. "IS ANYONE THERE?"

"What are you doing?" the little violet haired girl asked monotonously, "You're not going to give me away, are you?"

"Damn right I am." I said, calling out again for anyone to take the brat off my hands. Before I knew it, she took off, pushing me aside and running upstairs herself. I merely grinned. Thank God she was gone now... I could already hear the frenzy upstairs as she tripped and Ike found her, and then they found out who she was. I'm glad I didn't have to be a part of any of it.

Then again, I'm probably in a lot of trouble now for treating her like that. Crap.

* * *

FE Frog: With all the Meia-getting-hurt it's starting to seem like she's incompetent... I'll have to stop that. And I am quite aware it was bold to talk to the Apostle like that, but... Okay, I won't spoil, but it's not all daisies and rainbows. (Did that make sense?)

Now I should get back to studying. Or post chapter 1 of Just a Small Town Girl sequel... Still have to find a good name for it...

BYES! I'll be posting again soon! (Hopefully)


	14. Lost

FE Frog: ... I am _sooooo_ tired... It was midnight when I actually finished writing this chapter, but now it's 1:00 in the morning because I had to edit it and THEN fix this random stuff that happened to the file. If italicised words are attached to regular font words, it's because I forgot to fix those ones. Of course, I'm posting it in the morning because that's when most people go on FF . net.

And BY THE WAY, I hope you people are okay if I don't update for at least a week, because this chapter is 5,705 or so words WITHOUT these author notes at the beginning and end (7,022 with the author notes.) Plus, I need to work on JSTG 2, because I want to get into it, that way it'll be easier to write. I'm also trying to think out a new story (which I'll probably save until one of these two are done. I've had enough of writing multiple stories at once. 2 is more than enough.) PLUS I need to play Blazing Sword again (even though I'm not done the final battle against Urgal- I mean _Nergal_ on my first play through. As you can see, my mind is a little on the Inheritance Cycle as well... My friend just told me when the 4th book is coming out) I want to know the characters before I write anything about it. I've played PoR about a gazillion times, and RD at LEAST 10-15 times now. And I also want to get to playing Sacred Stones and Sword of Seals, but I'm only going to play one at a time as to not get mixed up between plots.

ANYWAYS... So My exams are done. Yay... I'm honestly way too tired to be happy. Plus, not the greatest thing happened today. But I won't bother anyone with that here.

**IMPORTANT NOTE:** It is to be assumed that Meia has not played Radiant Dawn. The only part where I wrote '(**BTW**)' was as an author note to clear something up. Anything that is revealed in RD is not known by Meia and she's only assuming things here... Plus, there's sort of an explanation.

Anyways, now that that's cleared up... Thank you to the following reviewers (For both chapter 12 and 13:

**spygirly  
SuperNova23  
Holy Star  
Meru-64**

... Should I re-write the first chapter to make it sound better and attract more people? Plenty read the first chapter (or so the stats say) but stop there... I think I might re-write it.

Well, read please, and review! I know this one is sort of boring, and then it... Never mind. You'll see.

* * *

As a safety precaution, I stayed down in my cabin again until we were in Begnion, even if I should have been training. I had a good reason this time. And my conscience was eating away at me as I wondered what was in store for me in the capital. What if they arrested me and sent me to the gallows for treason? No, Sienne was too fancy for simple hangings. What if they chopped my head off with a guillotine? That seemed more Begnion's style. Maybe they'd bring me to the dungeons and have the executioner do what he did best.

My fears made me forget about everything else, especially the fun things like laughing at Soren who _still _couldn't find his books, or learning a new language from Rhys, who wasn't even good at the language to begin with, or trying to get Zihark and Lethe together. I didn't help Mist with her slop, or try and make tacos again. I just sat in bed worrying, or wandering around the ship to keep away from Mia who insisted on nagging me to do _something _productive.

My heart raced when Mia came down to tell me to start packing because we were almost at the port. Apparently we just had to pack and Begnion would deal with bringing our stuff to Sienne. There would also be carriages to take us all so we didn't have to walk (It was a few days walk if we did).

I helped Mia with packing and even asked her what she thought about my situation. She was surprised I spoke like that to he Apostle to begin with, but then said if they punished me at all, it wouldn't be too severe. I helped Elincia, after all, and they would have to deal with her and Ike if they decided to kill me. It was reassuring, to say the least, but I couldn't help thinking of the worst case scenario nevertheless.

Being on land again helped settle my nerves, and being with Mia in the carriage. Lethe was stuck with us too, but we managed.

"Mia?" I asked, trying to get my mind off of my (possibly) impending doom, "Did you see the raven King on the ship when we were battling with Begnion?"

Mia's brows creased, "King? I don't remember any King. I remember plenty of crows, that's for sure, and then that really hot one with the old guy, but no King."

Lethe, who had been quiet the entire time for some odd reason, finally spoke up. First, she scoffed, "The _hot _looking one? You beorc are disgusting. Naesala doesn't deserve to be called a laguz." Then she narrowed her eyes at me, "And how did you know he was King? No one ever said anything about that, and you shouldn't even know that."

"He _was _King?" Mia's jaw dropped, "Goddess, are all crow Royals that good-looking?"

Lethe rolled her eyes, not answering to her question. Personally, I thought it was a rhetorical question. No doubt most raven Royals _were_.

I shifted in my seat under Lethe's glare. How _did _I know he was King? Other than the fact that I had played the game... But that's all the proof Lethe needs to claim I'm completely insane. "Erm... I... Uh... I overheard a crow saying something like that." Yeah, that should do.

"You're a pathetic liar." Lethe spat in response, "You should know we laguz are very good at telling if you're lying. I can hear your heart beating faster, and _smell _the sweat you beorc develop." She continued to glare, "Are you a beorc spy for him?"

"What?" Just the thought of it was ridiculous. Me? A spy? For _Naesala? _Hah!

"Never mind." Lethe huffed, "That was a stupid suggestion. The crow King wouldn't have someone like you, who can't even tell a proper lie, spy for him. The crows can lie better than they can tell the truth. You would be a disgrace." She looked out her window, ignoring us once more.

Mia looked over at me, "How _did _you know he was a King?"

I shrugged, "I just did."

Lethe grumbled, still not convinced.

I motioned to her with my head, "Why were we stuck with the grumpy pussy cat anyways?"

Mia shrugged. Lethe looked like she was trying extra hard not to turn around and lash out at me with her claws.

"Well," I sighed, leaning back, "At least it's not Soren."

Mia laughed, "Are you kidding me? Soren would probably kill himself before he had to be stuck in a carriage for the Goddess knows how long with us!"

Lethe's head turned ever so slightly, her lavender eyes looking back and forth between Mia and I. I could have sworn I saw the smallest of smirks cross her lips. What was she thinking? It was a few moments of silence before she gave in and turned towards us, "Would _you _want to see Soren squirming like that?"

"Hell yes." Was my immediate response. Mia and I would have so much fun torturing Soren with our presences. If he had to sit through a several days' ride to Sienne with us? Priceless.

"So would I." Was her answer. So maybe the cat wasn't so bad after all.

We had to make a stop that night. The horses who pulled our carriages needed rest and so did we. The inn offered us a night on the house for the whole group, mainly because it was Tanith who was there to rent out the entire place, and apparently she had connections in town. It was a large inn, but even then we needed to share rooms. Mia and I didn't hesitate to pair up.

Mia jumped onto the double bed that was at the center of the room. "It's so nice to be able to sleep in a bed on solid ground! Last night was horrible!"

Mia really shouldn't be complaining. Sure we had to sleep in the carriages, which was horrible considering the rough road and whatnot, but she wasn't the one who had to put up with her snoring AND Lethe's freaky purring. I don't know if that was just her way of snoring or if she was simply having a good dream (of someone scratching her behind the ear or something?) I couldn't sleep whatsoever. And, no, I couldn't help but see what would happen if I touched Lethe's ears. She just swatted at my hands... And smiled. Lethe smiling was just plain strange.

I was happy to be able to sleep in a proper bed as well, but not that I had to share with Mia. It's bad enough sharing a room. I should have just agreed with Mist to share. I put my backpack (we were all allowed one with necessities for when we stopped for the night) on the chair by the desk and stretched my arms up, "I don't know about you, but I'm starved!" The bread we had on the carriage was getting stale and Lethe refused to share her dried meat.

Mia threw an arm over her eyes, "Okay. I'm going to take a nap before going down."

"Okey dokey. See you later." I washed my face with the cloth and water basin supplied before going down. Most people were still settling in, so I decided to help the cooks. Mist was also in the kitchen, along with Oscar, as the inn chefs weren't used to having so many people.

"Hey, Meia!" Mist said, mixing her signature slop. "Settled in already?"

"Yeah." I picked up a random string that was on the counter, hoping it wasn't a shoe-lace (that joke is probably getting old, isn't it?), then dropped it again and looked up, "Need any help?"

Oscar came over and put a stack of wooden bowls in my arms, "Could you get this outside? We want to be ready to serve as soon as possible."

"Got it." I would have saluted, but my hands were full. I went back and forth between the dining hall and kitchen, bringing bowls, cutlery and other dinner necessities. When the cooking was done, they no longer needed my help and I was dismissed to go sit in the dining hall all alone.

I sat down to relax, but that idea was soon shot down when Aimee walked in.

She was looking around, faking some sort of innocence, "Ike? Where are you, my dear?" She spotted me and scurried over, "You! You're close to my Ike, aren't you?"

"N-no... not really..." I stuttered. Aimee was being creepy, sticking her face in mine and narrowing her eyes.

She leaned back, "Of course you are, I'm not stupid. You've been with him and his little band of... ruffians... since before _I _even came along to steal his heart."

I chuckled, "Sure."

Aimee raised an eyebrow, "Sure? What do you mean by that?"

"I can tell you that his heart is still intact. It's his dignity you stole."

The shop girl harrumphed and crossed her arms, "Why am I even bothering with you. You're another one of those ruffians... Why does my Ike even waste his time on the likes of you?"

My God she was rude. Worse than the Apostle even, and that's saying something. "What's your problem? We're like a family to him! If _you _haven't noticed, he gets anxious around you because you _freak him out_. You should hear him after you're finished terrorizing him!"

Aimee rolled her eyes and fixed her head scarf, "Never mind. Why did I even bother with you? I hate mingling with the competition."

"Fine, leave... Wait, WHAT?" I started sputtering, "What are you talking about 'competition'?"

Aimee sighed and turned, "Nothing, dearie. Every girl is competition around here. Just stay away from my man."

"I think you've misunderstood, Aimee." But it was useless, she was gone. I sank back to my seat and groaned. Well, she said _every _girl, so I didn't accidentally make it seem like that...

Dinner was served, and I kept mostly to myself, occasionally eyeing Tanith for any sort of clue of what was in store for me in the capital. Mia joined halfway through the meal still half-asleep, and Lethe joined us only for a minute to tell us how she was going to get the carriage plan mixed up so she could ride with Mordecai and Soren would be stuck with us. At this point, I didn't really care anymore. She just wanted out and to torture Soren. Two birds with one stone.

Mia didn't seem to care either, too groggy to even notice the cat talking. Lethe seemed frustrated, too, seeing as neither of us paid her much attention. I'm not entirely sure if she left in the end because she was done talking, or because we annoyed her. Didn't matter to me either way.

"So..." Mia said, shoving her food around her plate, "I'm really bored."

I shrugged, "Nothin' I can do about that. Sorry. I'm just as bored as you."

Mia put her fork down and straightened up slightly, "So, what happened to Operation Matchmaker?"

I shrugged again, "Dunno. We kind of just forgot about it, I guess. There's been lots of other things to think about, too."

Mia nodded, and went back to pushing around her food until it was a multi-grey blob. No, there was no colour. Except for a little bit of green from mashed broccoli. I didn't even know it was possible to mash broccoli.

We were still sitting there by the time people started leaving, some too full from all the food (We really did have a feast) or a little too intoxicated. Like Kieran, who refused to let Oscar take him upstairs because he thought the green knight would pull some trick on him. Oscar did end up taking him upstairs when Kieran collapsed on the stairs and knocked himself out.

Mist sat next to us once her shift was over ad munched on some food. She didn't seem that hungry either, and was confused as to why Mia and I were so quiet. She called Rolf over and they talked in hushed tones, but loud enough so that they could hear themselves over the rest of the people. They talked about random things, too, and it almost seemed awkward for them. Rolf was blushing, as well, which almost made me want to pinch his cheeks and tell him how cute he was. Almost.

Soon enough, they left too. I guess it was past their bed time. Then again, it was past mine too. I never stayed up past a certain time if we had battles and/or travelling coming up. Tonight was different. I just sat there. My mind was blank.

That's when I realized there was something severely wrong with this. I was bored and going into a mini depression. This could _not _happen. I quickly stood up and saluted to Mia, "I'm going to bed," I said, adding some pep to my talk, "Good night." Tomorrow I vowed to do _something_. We were almost in Sienne, anyways, and I might as well make my last few days as memorable as possible. Even if I don't remember them dead.

The first thing I did in the morning was soak in the small bucket/tub that I had filled with partially boiled water. It felt good t take a bath, because I hadn't in God knows how long. I even got a hold of some sort of substitute for soap to get the grease from my hair and leave me smelling fresh as a daisy. Actually, more like fresh as lemons, seeing as that was one of the ingredients. Hey, I had to find something. But lemons smell good, so I didn't mind too much.

After that, I towel dried my hair then picked out a nicer outfit than my usual brown pants and some random coloured tunic. This time around, I picked out a cute dark green skirt that I may or may not have gotten from Mist's 'too long for me' stash. Not that it was very long at all. In fact, the hem just made it to my finger tips. Not that I cared. It was only the beginnings of fall. Along with the skirt I found a beige v-neck t-shirt that I tucked into the skirt and finished off with a chestnut coloured leather belt around the waist. _Nice_, I thought as I pulled on my usual leather boots. The boots looked good enough with the outfit, seeing as the weren't too big and slouchy, thus came halfway up my calf, and had an elegant gold buckle on the side of each. (Not in the centre like a leprechaun. I may be part Irish, but you would never catch me dead with leprechaun shoes.)

Pleased, I strapped on a sword (You never know...) and packed away the rest of my things.

"Oh..." Mia said, walking into the room with a towel wrapped around her. Looks like she had just taken a bath too. "You're... You're wearing a skirt."

"Yup."

"Are you trying to impress someone?"

"Nope." I even went as far as making the bed. I would be as cheerful and helpful as possible today.

Mia blinked, somewhat confused, then shook it off and grabbed some clothes. She put on her undergarments while I was turned, fluffing my pillow. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yup!" I answered with a smile, "Why do you ask?"

"Because," Mia pulled on one of her orange dress thingies, then sat down to put on her socks, "You're acting awful strange for someone who was all depressed yesterday."

I shrugged cheerfully, "I was getting tired of doing nothing and feeling depressed and bored."

Still a little baffled, Mia finished getting ready and packed up, "Well, I guess that's it for now. Next stop, Sienne."

We went downstairs to where breakfast was to be served. Except it wasn't. There was just some guy sweeping the floor.

"We must be earlier than we thought." I said, setting my stuff down on a table and walking to the kitchen. No sound. We must be really early.

The sweeping guy turned to me and smiled, "Can we offer you a room upstairs, miss? Lunch won't be served for a while." He had the same funny accent most of the people in Begnion had. I really hadn't been expecting that. Then again, it's not like you heard anyone else speaking _English _other than Ike, Mist, Greil and the Black Knight in the game. Oh yes, and Elincia. But I had learned that many of them had different accents, yet nothing I could place. Sanaki had a posh-sounding accent, but not like anything from where I came from, and then the sweeper had an accent that made him seem more uneducated. The Gallians, Kilvans and Goldoans all had accents, too, that distinguished them from the other countries.

I looked back at Mia, panic clear on my face, "Oh my God..."

Mia finished, "They left without us."

The sweeper gasped, "Oh! You two are with General Ike's group? They left at least an hour ago!"

"Oh crap." We said in unison.

We ended up sitting outside waiting for a carriage to appear on the horizon, meaning they realized who was missing. The longer we waited, the less likely it seemed.

Mia groaned, "I can't believe we overslept so much..."

"Don't blame me," I huffed in return, "You didn't wake me up."

"Oh that's great." She said, throwing her arms up, "It's all my fault." So much for my great day.

I pointed a finger in her direction, "For the record, we agreed you would wake me up if I ever overslept."

"And how do you suppose I do that if I somehow managed to sleep in?"

I wanted to retort, preferably with something clever, but nothing came to mind except for: "We're screwed."

The Inn keeper came out and tilted his head to the side. "What are you two still doing here?" He asked in that accent that was starting to irritate me.

"Slept in." I grumbled, shooting a look at Mia who simply glared back. I looked back, "If we were to walk to Sienne, how long to you suppose it would take?"

The Innkeeper made a strange face then ran a hand through his greasy, brown, thinning hair. "Oh, I don't know. Never been to the capital m'self." And then his eyes widened as the light bulb went on, "Oh! If you go to the big villa on the west side of town, the man there has business in the capital."

I rolled my eyes, "Never mind. I'd imagine it's pretty far."

Mia nudged me, her elbow digging into my side harder than I would have liked, "We might as well, Meia. It's not like we have anything better to do. If someone decides to come back for us, they can come get us." She stood up, stretching out her arms, and turned to the Innkeeper, "If anyone from our group comes, just tell them where we went, okay?"

The Innkeeper nodded, "Sure thing! You can also leave your things here. I'll make sure nobody touches them."

I was a little skeptical, but Mia made me leave the things behind the Inn's front desk where they were, no doubt, quite safe. I didn't have any valuables in there, anyways, that I wasn't bringing along with me. I made sure to strap on my sword, bow and quiver, and even tie my vulnerary to my belt. Mia agreed that if we were to run into trouble, bringing our weapons would be best. Plus, no one would even bother to give us trouble if they saw we were armed _and _capable.

Following the Innkeeper's directions (which he had tried to write, but ended up handing the quill and paper to me. Turns out he was practically illiterate. Then again, it _was _more or less the medieval times/something slightly more 1600s, where only important people learned to read and write. (Well, lower class kids were now being sent off to school) He was shocked that I could, though, and so was Mia, who could read, but had a hard time and an even harder time actually writing coherent things down.) which was all in my own messy scrawl that hadn't really changed since grade 4. I never bothered to make my writing look neater and more presentable because I wrote to get my thoughts down, not to make it look pretty.

We arrived at what could only be the villa the Innkeeper had been talking about. It was massive.

"Why would someone build a place like this _here_?" Mia asked, scratching her head.

I shrugged, "Maybe it's his summer home or something." I walked past her and looked through the cast iron bars of the front gate, "I wonder how we're going to get in..."

A soldier in a red uniform stepped out from a stone tower attached to the front gate. "What business do you have with the Earl of Kadohl?"

The Earl? Mia and I exchanged looks. I looked around a little before letting my eyes fall onto the soldier again, "We're with Princess Elincia's group."

The soldier raised an eyebrow, "How? The group left quite some time ago for Sienne."

Mia sighed, "We were left behind, okay? The Innkeeper told us that whoever lived here would know how far Sienne was from here, and how to get there."

This time, the soldier laughed, "Is that all you two wanted? The Earl does not see just anyone. I can send a messenger in, but Lord Kadohl is very busy with preparing to head back to Sienne himself upon the Apostle's request."

Mia and I looked at each other again, eyes wide. The guy was high up enough to be summoned by the Apostle herself? I looked back at the solider, "That would be great, really. If at all possible, could the messenger ask for us? It's best we be on our way as soon as possible."

The solider nodded, "Certainly." He went back into the stone building and spoke with another man inside, who sprinted out and towards the villa.

Mia crossed her arms, "This guy must be pretty important. I'm surprised the Innkeeper had no idea who he was."

I grinned, "You'd think the people here would know who keeps their town in order. Especially if it's someone cozy with the Apostle."

We waited for another 10 minutes before the messenger returned, saying the Earl requested we come inside. I wasn't too happy about the idea, but Mia told me that it may be a good idea to get in good with someone close to the Apostle in case the Apostle really _did_want to punish me. I glared at her for saying it because: 1) She was right, and 2) I hadn't been thinking about my doom, and she brought it back to my mind. _Thanks, Mia..._

The villa was ornately decorated inside, but by the time the messenger brought us to the Earl's personal quarters, it seemed more normal. It sort of reminded me of the Greil Mercenaries HQ... Except more Begnion-style, which meant there had to be at least 50 ridiculously expensive things in every corner.

The messenger knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Came a man's voice. His accent was no where near as thick as most of the people around here, and even had a hint of something else I couldn't quite place. It sounded vaguely familiar. Very vague, though, so I had no chance at placing that either. The voice sounded, I must say, pretty sexy. I had expected it to be rougher, but it was slightly on the softer side. (**BTW** – I've always imagined him with a softer voice... Like a way sexier version of Ike, instead of how he _does_ sound in.)

The messenger bowed his head, even if the Earl guy inside couldn't see him. "I brought the two who requested an audience with you."

"Come in, then."

The messenger opened the door, bowed as we walked through, then closed it behind us.

The room, which looked like it was supposed to be an office, had training gear, weapons and armour all over. The only office-like thing it had was a desk, at which the 'Earl' was sitting, back turned to us, sharpening a long, broad-bladed sword (silver blade, perhaps?) while staring out the window. We could only see his dark, cerulean hair and his muscular arms as he ran a whetstone over the metal. A yellow patterned cape was draped across the back of his chair, the colour going well with the red helmet on the desk.

I was at a bit of a loss for words, but I manged to say something, coherent or not, "Uh... We didn't actually ask to see you... We wanted the messenger to ask you a question and-"

He turned around, his green eyes silencing me. My God... His voice sounded pretty sexy, as I mentioned before, but I wasn't expecting _him _to look so gorgeous as well. "I know. _I _requested that they bring you two in." He picked up the sheath that was lying next to the helmet, holding the sword with only one arm, which caused his bicep to bulge even more. I know I probably couldn't lift that sword with one hand, and I'm pretty sure Mia wouldn't be able to either.

And then I remembered his actual name from the game, "Oh! You're Zelgius, right?"

Zelgius grinned, "Yes, that would be me."

Mia looked at me, jaw dropping, "You mean... Zelgius the General of the Imperial Army?" Her hands went to her mouth as she looked back at him, "Oh my Gosh..."

Zelgius sheathed the sword and stood up. I had a feeling he would be tall before, but not, like, 6'3". I felt so inadequate with my just-barely 5'5" stature. The Imperial General also looked this tall and this muscular _without _his armour. All he wore were white pants, a dark green, long sleeve, collared button-down with the first couple buttons undone, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and a pair of leather boots that folded right under his knees.

He stopped in front of us, making both of us have to tilt our heads back to look him in the eyes. And then he put out a hand, "And you might be?"

I blinked as he stared _right at me_, "Uh..." I bit my lip, my hand twitching as I tried to lift it up to shake his, "I'm M-Meia..." Finally I managed to lift it just enough, and he shook, moving onto Mia afterwards. There was something about him, though, that made me feel a little uneasy. Not the fact that his looks were beyond human (was he human?) or that he was bigger than I had expected (and not just taller), but something else. Something _dangerous_. No, the General of the Imperial Army wouldn't be as cruel as to make us trade our bodies for information on how far away Sienne was. It's not like he was my personal assassin and I wouldn't be walking out of here alive. It definitely wasn't anything I should even be worrying about. Just something strange that made me feel a little uncomfortable and want to be extra-careful.

By the look of Mia, who was totally fine shaking his hand (she shook _his _hand instead of the other way around), she didn't feel the uneasiness I did.

Zelgius let go and looked between us, from one to the other, "You two were travelling with Princess Elincia's army?"

Army? I don't remember us being an 'army' per se. A group of hired mercenaries and tag-alongs, sure, but not an actual army.

"Yeah!" Mia said cheerily, "We were just, well, forgotten because this one," She pointed to me with her thumb, "Slept in."

Zelgius didn't smile, like I would have thought he would, finding our predicament funny. He simply nodded, "I see. And you were planing to go to Sienne on your own?"

This time I spoke up. I was more serious than Mia was, mainly because I was still a little uncomfortable. "Yes. We came just to ask, but we're pretty sure that someone will notice us gone and come back. If not, then we'll walk to Sienne if we have to."

"Hm." Was his response. It sounded like he was amused, but his face remained expressionless. "It's dangerous wandering around alone, especially for two young women like yourselves."

I narrowed my eyes ever so slightly and put a hand on the hilt of my sword, "I doubt bandits or slave traders will be a problem. We aren't defenseless."

"I never said you were. You're simply underestimated. It's dangerous for anyone to wander around alone, or even with just one person, on foot." He turned and went back to his desk, settling in his chair again, "If you would like, you can both join me and my soldiers. You'll be safe and it will be much faster than walking."

Uh huh, because two apparently defenseless girls are going to travel with hundreds of men who will be missing their wives and girlfriends a little too much ad will use whatever substitute they can lay their hands on. "I think I'll pass."

Mia gasped as her eyes snapped back to me. "What? How can you turn down an offer like that?" She asked incredulously, "Suppose there _are _bandits on the roads that we run into!"

I turned to her, "We can handle bandits."

Zelgius closed his eyes and shook his head, "You are not making a very wise choice."

I opened my mouth to say something else, but Mia quickly covered it with her hand, "We appreciate the offer, really, but we should wait to see if anyone from our group comes to bring us to Sienne, first."

The General nodded, "Understandable. We are leaving in less than a week's time. If you decide to come, please tell me no later than Thursday."

Mia nodded back. "If no one comes in four days, no doubt they won't be coming at all. Thank you, uh... Lord Zelgius." She seemed uncomfortable with calling him 'Lord'. It didn't suit Mia's style to use honorifics like that.

Zelgius's lips turned up slightly, "You're welcome." He didn't say to not call him 'Lord' like I would have hoped. Maybe I expect too much. Or maybe I'm just too uncultured.

I pulled Mia's hand away and tried to let my face loosen up, maybe even let a smile, no matter how fake, come light up in my eyes. It was hard. Too hard. "Thanks." Mia shot me a look. Yup, definitely uncultured.

Mia rolled her eyes and mouthed 'Sorry', which made me roll my eyes as we turned and walked towards the door, which was already being opened.

The door opened all the way, and into the room stepped Ike, eyes lighting up when he saw us. "About time I find you two!" He exclaimed, heaving a sigh of relief.

I couldn't help feeling slightly more comfortable with Ike there, because I just knew he would understand how strange I felt around Zelgius.

Ike walked in, looking both Mia and I up and down to check for any sort of injury, and then he turned to Zelgius, "Hello. You would be...?"

Zelgius got up again and walked over. I could see Ike's adam's apple bob as he gulped, probably feeling fairly inadequate as well compared to Zelgius, a trained _General _of Begnion. Ike was also a few inches shorter (He still had growing to do, right?), making Zelgius all the more intimidating. He put out his hand again, "General Zelgius of the Begnion Imperial Army."

That was it. Something changed on Ike's face, but it was so minute I doubt anyone else noticed. The only reason I noticed is because I'd been expecting it... And he didn't gulp this time, mind on something else. He was cautious, not as cautious as me, but was still slow in shaking Zelgius's hand.

"Well met, General Ike." Zelgius said. Even _his _tone had changed slightly, and I was completely baffled as to why. "Is there anything you'd like before you're back on your way?"

"No." Ike was forcing himself to sound natural, "We need to go as soon as possible, but thank you for the offer." He turned and motioned for Mia and I to follow. We left Zelgius's office/study and were lead back to the front gate by the guards.

"You know, Ike, you could have sent someone else to get us." I said. I was actually quite curious as to why Ike had come instead of someone else. "You'll be late for meeting with the Apostle."

Ike looked at me from the corner of his eye, "No I won't."

Mia raised an eyebrow, also curious, "But..."

"I came with Tanith and two other members of the Holy Guard. Flying is a lot faster than riding a horse or coming by carriage."

I stopped in my tracks when the three pegasi came into view and swallowed. We'd be flying... Up high in the air... With nothing to keep us secure... Ad the threat of falling off to certain death ever imminent...

I'm pretty sure I fainted.

* * *

FE Frog: Was that boring or what? And, no, I probably will not add any sort of romance to this story unless everyone REALLY wants it. Even then, probably not. The hints at thins is just to tease you guys and I write it by accident, really.

... And yes, I have a slight fear of heights... *cough* I get terrified *cough*

So, for my not-so-great story from today. It was my first day of summer vacation, so I was happy to sleep in and just surf on my mom's laptop (because I was too lazy to either go downstairs or come back up to my room to go on my own computer... And because the stereo is in the family room which is next to the dining room/my mom's office and I wanted to blast my iPod) But of course at 3 I have an appointment at the optometrists, a 20 minute walk from my house down Main street. And it's raining. It's _pouring_. And I have to walk.

So I get there, my legs covered in random dirt and crap that my flip-flops kicked up from the puddles (so embarrassing...) and I went to the bathroom to clean it off, because it's gross and, well, embarrassing. Thank _God_ I had an umbrella.

During my appointment, I learn that my eyesight isn't 20/20 like it used to be. Now I have a prescription for glasses, but thankfully it's only optional. As in, when I go back to school in September and have a hard time seeing the board, I can get glasses. Otherwise I don't need them. And it's only distance, anyways.

My sister also had an appointment, which she was late for. Apparently I was supposed to pick her up at the park because she didn't know where the optometrist was (even though if she looked right, she would have seen the sign) but I was asleep when she told me. So I didn't. I called home and she was almost crying for some reason (she's overly worried about many things) and told her to come to the optometrist anyway.

Thankfully all went well... Except that she now more or less _needs_ glasses (even though it's not that bad. Slightly worse than me.) And it was sunny as we walked home.

So that's how my day went. And then I finished this chapter. At first it was going to be Hetzel's place, and his son lived in the summer house, but wanted 'payment' for his information and some of the characters came to the rescue (not necessarily Ike), but then I thought meeting Zelgius would be better. If anyone wants, I could _possibly_ write an alternate ending for that part, but it's not a promise.

... And I hope I didn't spoil anything for anyone...

Oh, and Ninian DOES come back to life, right? Or she doesn't die, or something like that, right? Because I think I remember reading she has an ending, so... Yeah...

ANYWAYS, please review. I write this for you guys, afterall, so it's the least you could do. Even id it's a 'good job' or 'you fic sucks. Get a life.' I'll either be touched or laugh at you. Either way work for me. And as always, constructive criticism is always welcome! Just don't bother me for my Canadian spellings, okay? Hopefully I can get more up soon, but I have video games I want to play, books I want to read, and friends I want to hang out with (You: FE Frog has friends? O.o) Yes, I have friends. I hope you never thought I was a loser lacking a social life of any sort...

And now it's 1:30 AM. G'night guys, and peace out... Zzzzz... (Of course I'm posting this in the morning)


	15. And Found!

FE Frog: Yay for another update! This one took a little longer because I got... distracted... And I was stuck at certain parts before the lightbulb went back on.

Anyways, just so you know while you read, I looked it up and apparently medieval parents were feeding their _four year olds_ alcohol, and even their freakin' babies, so that may explain a later scene. I know PoR takes place somewhere between medieval and renaissance, but the renaissance people were pretty strange, too. Oh, and no, none of the beer/ale/whatever-they-drank was watered down because they barely had any good water. Except for here... Because I can't live without water...

There was also no 'legal drinking age'. That was an American thing, apparently, and then the rest of the world followed suit so that American teens didn't feel so alone when they were at bars with all their foreign friends. Okay, so I made that last part up...

Also, I have decided to put _no romance_ between Meia and a character (unless you all _beg,_ because then I don't have much of a choice...), but there will be plenty of scenes with different characters where there's flirting or suggestions or what seems like a possibility. No, Meia is not a huge flirt, I just have too many favourite male characters to keep it to just one XD Of course, if people _do_ beg, we'll see who most want Meia paired up with... Except that won't be the focal point. More a side thing, because I wrote this for humour purposes, not fulfilling my own Fire Emblem-related fantasies.

Okay, so thanks to these people for bothering to review! If _you_ review as well, you're name will be up here and everyone else will be happy that thanks to you I'm still writing this.

**Dathedr  
kit kat  
Meru-64  
SuperNova23  
Holy Star**

Also, here's a little (random) fun fact. Path of Cheezyness currently (as I'm writing this sentence here) has the same amount of reviews as Just A Small Town Girl! Except JSTG has fewer chapters... I guess that shows which story is more popular... JSTG 2 only has 5 reviews, which makes me sad... All those people who read JSTG were so excited for the sequel, but so far I only have 5 reviews... Maybe because it took me forever? I'm almost done the next chapter, though!

ENJOY!

BTW- This chapter is REALLY long! Like, over 6,000 words in the story part alone. The author's note at the end is also extremely long because I wrote it last night at 3 in the morning (FE Frog is not very smart...) but is also pointless unless you, for some odd reason, enjoy reading my annoying/random rambling. And, no, I did not look over the author's notes for spelling mistakes. I never do. Takes too long. I tried to look over the chapter, but it's just so damned long!

Again... **ENJOY!**

* * *

When I opened my eyes again, I could see the sky. Just the blue sky with white, fluffy clouds floating around. As the gears in my brain started going again, I noticed the wind blowing in my face, and the arm around my waist. I lifted my head to see a white horse's head bobbing up and down as it rode on.

And then I looked down, my eyes widening and heart stopping when I saw how far away the ground was. I didn't scream, thankfully, but I came pretty close.

I never minded airplanes, or elevators, or even standing on the glass floor in the CN Tower. When I knew I was safe, or there was something clearly holding me up, I had no problem. But when I was walking up those stairs near the old theater at the University, where you could see between the steps, down 50 feet... That terrified me. Same with rock-climbing, or walking up that fireman's ladder just for the hell of it. There was nothing but air between me and the 30-50 foot drop to the ground.

Flying on the pegasus, it wasn't just 50 feet. It was 300. And all that kept me secure (or at least what I thought was all) was the arm around my waist.

My heart started pumping again, but much faster than usual. I thought it might explode.

"Are you feeling okay?"

I turned my head to see Ike, who looked more concerned than he usually did (but nowhere near as much as when I left Mist to find treasure). Behind him was one of the pegasus knights, eyes only on the air in front of us as she guided the pegasus.

When I realized just whose arm it was, my cheeks turned red. It was uncomfortable for me to be sitting with my back against Ike's chest, his arm keeping me from falling to my certain death.

"I'm... erm..." I started, but couldn't seem to form any sort of coherent sentence in my head, "F-fine."

"Good." That was all.

I looked out to see Mia hanging onto Tanith, who seemed a little annoyed. Surprise, surprise.

The girl behind Ike told us that we were almost in Sienne, but we could _see_ that. What could only be the Tower of Guidance loomed above the entire city, and the rest of it was white stone- marble, actually, with a wide ring of brown roofed houses surrounding the center of the capital.

_Good,_ I thought, _the sooner the better_. It was awkward sitting here. Then again, I felt kind of bad for Ike, who was sandwiched between the knight and me. Although he didn't seem to care all that much.

It took a lot longer than I thought to cover the 4 or 5 kilometers that had separated Sienne and us, or perhaps it just felt long because I wanted to get off this flying flea bag (don't tell Marcia I said that) as soon as possible for _many _reasons.

I heaved a giant sigh of relief when we touched ground and Ike helped me off the pegasus. I looked over at Mia and Tanith, the latter of the two also looking a bit relieved to be either on ground or finished with Mia.

"Ah! Tanith! You and you're squad is back!" Sigrun hurried down the steps of Mainal, her white cape billowing out behind her.

Tanith fed her pegasus a carrot from a pouch on her waist before turning around, "Yes, Commander Sigrun. The two girls weren't hard to locate."

Sigrun nodded expectantly, "Excellent."

"Yes, Ike found them with General Zelgius."

Sigrun fell silent and raised an eyebrow. Tanith, without hesitation, continued, "They were planning to walk all the way here."

This made Sigrun laugh, "My, my... That would not have been pleasant. I'm surprised General Zelgius saw them. He is awfully busy these days..." She trailed off, looking off at nothing in particular before blinking and turning back to us as if she just remembered something, "Ah, yes... The Empress would like for Ike to meet her in the Great Hall immediately. She wasn't all too pleased when she heard you'd gone off to find the stragglers."

I elbowed Ike in the side and muttered, "I told you it was a bad idea."

He shot me a look in return, whispering, "Yeah, well, it was too late by then." He turned back to the knights on the steps, "Tell her I'm on my way."

Sigrun clasped her hands together, "I shall personally escort you. A warning, though, Empress Sanaki is becoming impatient. You may want to hurry."

I saw the look in Ike's eyes that said how little he wanted to be rushed off to meet with the Apostle, but he held back a sigh and followed.

Sigrun smiled once more, "She also requests that the two girls you went back to fetch come."

Not that I could see it, but I could feel all the colour drain from my face right there and then. Sanaki requested we go as well. She requested _I_ go as well. I looked over at Mia, who seemed confused until she saw me, then gasped.

This could not be good.

We followed Sigrun up the cathedral steps and into the building. It may look big from the outside, but it was _massive_ on the inside. There were guards everywhere, standing still in their positions, but still ready to lay down their lives if anything were to happen. The marble walls and pillars were gorgeously decorated, some with gold pieces adorning them. The dome and arched ceilings were all made in mosaics, depicting many important times in Begnion history such as the war long ago, the crowing of the first Empress, and more they had never mentioned in the game.

We went through the front hall and were lead through a giant wooden door that lead to the throne room/'Great Hall'. I felt my hands shaking when I saw Sanaki, her small body seated on the Begnion throne, her robes filling the rest of the seat. Elincia was there already, looking down with her hands together in front of her. Several Dukes were also there, some I recognized. Like Oliver. He was so revolting, whether it's just his image or seeing him in person.

Mia stood close to me, trying her best to comfort me with her presence. I realized it was only Mia I had told about my run-in with Sanaki on the ship. No one else knew or could comfort me as I was sentenced to Go knows what...

As we approached, I took deep breaths, preparing for whatever the Apostle had in store...

But she said nothing. Sanaki gave the two of us a quick once-over, narrowing her eyes when she was looking me over, and then turned her attention to Ike and Elincia.

That was it. That was all. She only wanted us to come to see who was so important that Ike would be late for his meeting with her to fetch. Hell, Sigrun even told us we could leave if we wanted to. I did, too, because I knew what was coming. Ike would argue with the Apostle, ultimately threatening Elincia's fragile opportunities. I didn't want to be there, risking blurting out something that could threaten _my_ opportunities to continue living. Mia stayed back, but I was going with or with out her.

A servant lead me to where our mini-army would be staying, and I found people still going about unpacking things. How long ago did they arrive? It couldn't be that long if they were still unpacking...

"Marcia?" I asked as the pink haired pegasus knight was passing me.

She turned, "Hm? Oh! Uh..." Her brow furrowed, "You're... M... Meia, right?"

"Yeah." I said, cheeks feeling warm. How embarrassing... I never even talked to her before and here I am calling her out like she was my friend. "Uh, I was just wondering when you guys got here."

Marcia's eyebrows shot up, "Ooooh! You're the one who was forgotten!" She smiled, "We got here about... an hour ago? Maybe an hour and a half? Ike left while we were still riding here, so you and your friend didn't get her much longer after we did."

I nodded, "Okay, thanks!"

Marcia waved it off, "Pfft! It was nothing. If you need any help with anything, just ask, okay?" She looked around cautiously and leaned closer to me, "And if any of the Holy Guard asks for me, don't tell them where I am, okay?"

"Sure thing." I said, putting a thumb up, "I probably won't even know where you are anyways."

Marcia grinned back, but then her lip drooped, "Oh crackers... There's one of the lieutenants..." She ran off, waving good bye to me.

I sighed and went to put my hands in my pockets... Only I didn't have pockets. I had forgotten I was wearing a skirt today instead of my usual pants or leggings. Ah well.

I managed to track down another servant who pointed out one of the only empty rooms left for out mini-army to stay in that would no doubt belong to Mia and I. Because Mia was still downstairs, I got dibs on which bed I wanted, so I, naturally, took the bigger one. When I realized the smaller one was actually a whole lot comfier, I decided to switch. After that, I went back out to get the bags that the knight who was carrying our stuff on her pegasus had brought up, which I began unpacking immediately. By the time I was mostly done, Mia came back up, sitting on the bed that held her bags.

"You should have stuck around, Meia. You missed a lot."

I hung up another shirt in the closet on my side of the room, "There's a reason I left, Mia. I didn't want to end up snapping at the Apostle _again_."

Mia raised an eyebrow, "Wait... You knew what was going to happen?" She leaped off the bed and approached me cautiously, "Are you... psychic or something?"

Oh crap. I froze. "Um... No... I-" So how did I know? Maybe I didn't... "I just didn't want to risk anything. I, uh, heard some rumours after about what happened."

Mia narrowed her eyes, then turned and nodded, "I see. Although it would be pretty cool if you _were_ psychic."

"I'm sure it would be." I said, tying up my bag and placing it at the bottom of the closet, "So how did it really go? I've only heard others talking."

Mia widened her eyes, her voice raising in volume as she explained to me how horrible the meeting went, how Ike was telling the Apostle how unnecessary her cruel joke was and how the Apostle and the Senate snapped back telling him that Elincia had no choice but to bear with their games.

After Mia's explanation, I asked if perhaps she wanted to train. As surprised as she was, she said she was too tired, so I went off by myself.

I had to get _another_ servant to show me where people trained, and apparently we had a courtyard all to ourselves where there were dummies, targets and plenty of weapons- real and training-only- that we were given to use. There weren't many people, though, as most weren't in any mood to train after the long trek (even if they had carriages and did nothing but sit) from Kadohl. Personally, I would find that more of a reason to train and get out all the energy that had been building up, but apparently I wasn't like most people. Surprise, surprise.

Thankfully, I had one potential training partner I knew. Rolf was practising his archery.

"Hey Rolf!" I said, waving as I approached, "What's up?"

Rolf shot another arrow at the the target, where it buried itself between the red circle that surrounded the yellow bull's-eye and the white circle that wound around the red one. He turned around with a big smile and bright, blue eyes, "Good! How about you? Sorry we forgot about you and Mia. We were just so busy getting everything else busy..."

I waved it off, "Oh, that's fine. We were fine." I walked over to a wooden stand that held an array of different bows. I pulled a steel bow off the stand, as I needed to practise my aim with it, and even practise how fast I used it. "Can I practise with you?"

Rolf pulled another arrow from his quiver of 30, "Sure! I'd be glad to practise with you!" He let the arrow fly, and this time it hit about 2 inches from the yellow bull's-eye.

"Nice shot." I said, strapping on a quiver of practice arrows with the heads rounded as to not hurt people, but still be able penetrate the target, "Hopefully I can get a shot like that."

"The only way to see is to try!" Rolf exclaimed. How was he so cheery all the time? Except for when he was blubbering about Boyd being mean to him, of course. He shot again, but this time it was off and hit the outer blue ring. "Darn!"

I fit an arrow to the bowstring and aimed, lining up the point with the center of the target. I steadied the bow and... _Thump_. I frowned. I had only hit the outer blue ring like Rolf had. It was a good thing I had finally decided to train.

Rolf wrinkled his nose, "I think it's the way you're standing, Meia."

I looked down at my feet, which were planted firmly on the ground, "What's wrong with how I'm standing?"

Rolf slid his bow over his shoulder and came over to me, kicking my front foot gently into place, then my back. "That might help... Shinon always told me-" And then he covered his mouth, "I wasn't supposed to say that!"

I shrugged, "I don't care, Rolf. I won't tell anyone. I won't even tell Shinon you said anything, if you don't want me to."

Rolf's cheeks were turning red, the colour contrasting the bright green in his head, "O-Okay..." He nudged my foot with his again, "There. Shinon always told me that part of archery is your feet. It's easier to aim depending on how you stand."

I nodded, "Makes sense. Kind of like in fencing or sword fighting... *The way you stand, or crouch, affects how well you hit."

"Yeah, I guess. Makes sense, though." He motioned for me to tr shooting now.

I did, and what do you know... The arrow landed right in the center of the red band. I looked over at Rolf with a big smile, "It worked!"

Rolf beamed back, "See? I told you."

My smile faded slightly. Was I being shown up by this little kid? I recreated the stance, altering it ever so slightly to something a little more comfortable, fitted an arrow to the bowstring, and aimed. I took a deep breath through my nose as I aimed and tried to keep my arms as still as possible...

My eyes widened when the arrowhead buried itself into the bull's-eye.

"Nice!" Rolf shouted, pumping a fist into the air.

I let the grin spread over my lips once more, "So I haven't quite lost my touch."

Rolf patted my back, "All you need to do is practise a little more and you'll be getting the bull's-eye on each one!" I didn't even bother to glare at him for insinuating that the shot was mere luck. I kept practising, and after about two or three hours, most of my shots were either on the line between the red ring and the yellow circle, or in the bull's-eye.

It was beginning to get late by then, as well, and as the summer went on, the days kept getting slightly shorter. Not to mention we were called for dinner.

I honestly didn't want to go to dinner smelling like I did after having been training for quite a while, but when I got up to my room to bathe, I found there was no personal bathtub. Apparently there was a guests bathroom with a bath for guests to share. How pleasant. here better be one for women and one for men.

So I went down smelling bad. Which didn't seem too bad after a while, seeing as most people didn't want to bathe as often as I did. I guess where I came from thought hygiene was a lot more important than the people here. Not to mention Begnioni didn't seem to like bathing much, anyways, instead covered themselves in perfume. I understand that when it comes to French people, because they don't have as much available water for much more than drinking, but here? Begnion had plenty of water.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the rest of our group eating in one of Mainal's dining halls. The table was adorned with every kind of food one ca think of, from whole pigs that I saw Mordecai tearing into, to carefully cut fruit in bowls made of hollowed out water melon and such. We hadn't had food like this since we were in Gallia, and not even the Gallians' food could compare to this!

I made my way over to a spot on the bench (I doubt they had been expecting this many people) that stretched along the length of the table, one on either side. Mist had reserved a place for me, apparently, between her and Boyd, who was eating everything in sight.

Mist filled a cup with a brown liquid from a jug and handed it to me, "Here you go! And you might want to grab some food before this idiot," she motioned to Boyd, who was ripping a piece of chicken straight off the pone with his teeth, "does."

I took the cup gratefully and downed a gulp... Then nearly spat it back out. Mist looked at me funny. I lifted the cup, "I'm under-aged, I hope you know."

Mist blinked, took my cup, inspected it, and even took a experimental sip just to make sure, then she handed it back to me, "What do you mean under-aged? It's fine. And you're fourteen, not four!"

What? I was completely taken aback. Mist was feeding me beer (or ale... I wasn't entirely sure what it was) and it was completely fine. Even _she_ was drinking it. "You mean... There's no legal drinking age?" For some reason, this was all new to me. We didn't really drink that much at any other point, except from our own water-skins. Even in Gallia, it was all fruit juices and wines, the latter I only had a glass of each night because I was used to having a single glass with dinner on occasion.

But _this_? As I looked around, no one else seemed to care and kept refilling their cups.

Mist burst out laughing, "Legal drinking age? Why would we have _that_? Do you honestly think people are going to make a law on how old people have to be to drink?"

I blinked back, stunned, "So... It's completely normal for you to drink alcohol? Even if you're 13?"

Mist took her own cup and downed it all in one gulp, which made my jaw drop. She put the cup down and laughed a little lighter this time, "And? What's wrong with that?"

Oh dear...

By the time I was stuffed, most others were too. They kept drinking, of course, and the atmosphere got more boisterous by the minute, but no one continued to eat (except for the laguz, Boyd and Ike, of course.) I was slowly sipping from my third cup of mystery-alcoholic-liquid Mist had forced on me. She was getting more tipsy by the second, which was scary. I never in my life expected to see a drunk thirteen year old, let alone Mist, but that looked like it would soon become a reality if she kept drinking from her bottomless cup.

Mia, who sat across from me and had come in late, was also finished eating, but accepted all of the glasses Gatrie offered her. I'd have to keep an eye on them.

A fog was creeping up on my own mind as Mist urged me to finish already so she could refill my cup. I simply kept a hand over the top and kindly refused each time. It was strange for me, because I only ever had a glass of wine with dinner, as I mentioned before, and not even a fully glass. More like half. My parents were fine with it, in fact, they almost always offered me a glass, and sometimes even just gave me the half-glass of red wine (or white when it was my grandma, because she preferred white, as do I.) Drinking several cups of beer? Nuh-uh. My stomach already felt a little funny as is.

By the time people started singing, I wanted out, but Mist was holding me down and pouring another glass I knew I wouldn't drink. I watched in horror as Gatrie started hitting on Mia, making Mia blush and giggle insanely. _No!_ I wanted to yell at her, _What about Ranulf? _But Boyd who had joined in the singing beside me was too loud for her to hear me if I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I groaned and dropped my head into my hands as the chaos around me unfolded thanks to the mystery-alcoholic-liquids. I bet Sanaki had this planed, to torture me with a mini-army full of drunks. It was probably worse than whatever she had planned, plus everyone else would be making a fool of themselves as well (and some possibly even waking up in the wrong bed in the morning.)

When Mist was prying my hand off of my cup to force-feed me the contents of the cup, and Gatrie was starting to make his moves on Mia, I knew I was done. I got up abruptly and 'gently' pushed Gatrie away from Mia, telling him to get lost and making Mia attempt to pout at me. And then she yawned, not even covering her mouth like I had managed to teach her. Gross.

"Say, Mia," I said, putting a hand on hr shoulder, "I think you should go upstairs to sleep."

She huffed, "Whyyyyyyyy? I'm not even-" Yawn "-tired!"

"Sure you aren't." I grabbed her forearm and pulled her up, "Let's go."

Mia reluctantly got up and stumbled forward. I caught her and put her arm around my shoulders so I could help her to our room. _Curse you, Sanaki!_ I shouted in my head. The Empress was probably grinning as she somehow watched me struggle to get Mia to the other side of the table. She was a lot heavier than I thought she would be, which was surprising because she clearly wasn't packing _any_ extra weight. Maybe there was more muscle than I thought on her thin arms, legs, and body in general.

Finally, I managed to drag Mia out of the dining hall to a hallway that was more quiet. Maybe my headache would go away. Of course, Mia passed out as soon as I got to the stairs.

I groaned, "Thanks, Mia, you're a _great _help when I'm trying to save your ass." Now I somehow had to drag her limp body _up_ the stairs and find our room.

"Need some help, there?"

I turned to see Ike carrying a mumbling Mist on his back. I sighed, "You already have Mist, I can manage."

Ike let Mist slide off his back, "How about you take Mist up, huh? She's lighter and still somewhat conscious."

"Okay." I handed Mia over to him, who he scooped up into his arms. Mia grinned, wrapped her arms around his neck, and snuggling her face into his shoulder. I got Mist steady on her feet as she mumbled something about challenging Boyd to a contest, presumably a drinking contest.

Ike looked at Mia strangely as she sighed in delight. I chuckled, "Don't worry, you get used to it. When we had to share a bed, she would do that to me all the time. She has weird dreams."

Ike nodded, eyes still wider than usual and a small look of disgust and confusion on his face, "I see."

I helped Mist up the stairs as Ike walked slowly beside me. The silence was awkward, and I couldn't help but think of being on the pegasus and how awkward I felt there as well. And then a question popped into my head. "Hey Ike?"

"Yeah?"

I looked over, "Why _did_ you come back to get Mia and I?"

He looked out in front of him and stayed silent for a moment before shrugging, "I don't know... I guess I felt I was responsible for the two of you. You're part of my mercenaries and my family. I make sure never to leave my family behind."

I nodded, "I see. Well, thank you, anyways. I hope you didn't get into trouble with the Apostle for being late."

Ike laughed, "No, I didn't get into trouble for that. But I got in trouble for other things. Worse things."

"I know. I heard. Mia told me all about it." I was about to motion to Mia when I saw her chewing on Ike's cape, "Uh..."

Ike didn't notice at first until he followed my gaze. When he saw what Mia was doing, he nearly dropped her. Thank God he didn't. "What is she doing?"

I shook my head, "I have no idea. Like I said, she has weird dreams."

"You can say that again!" He exclaimed, shrugging her head away with one of his shoulders.

Mist started mumbling again, this time about wanting to see if Rolf could hold his alcohol the way Boyd could, and then smiling to herself when she figured he probably couldn't.

I glared at the girl, "Mist is an awfully heavy drinker for thirteen."

Ike sighed, "Yeah, she gets it from our dad. She doesn't drink often, but when she does... She drinks more than she should."

I grinned, "And you got your mom's drinking abilities, which is next to none?"

Ike looked away, "I just didn't want to risk having a hangover or something in case I had another meeting with the Apostle tomorrow. She gives me a headache as is, I don't want to make the situation worse."

That made me laugh rather loudly, "In other words, you can't hold your alcohol well enough to be able to drink two glasses without drinking yourself under the table!"

Ike glared at me, "That's not what I said. I said I didn't want to risk anything!" He huffed, "I didn't see you drinking anything."

"Then you're blind if you couldn't see Mist forcing the stuff down my throat. You see, apparently I can drink a glass or two without waking up with a throbbing head." I blame it on my mix of German and Irish blood.

Ike didn't respond, which told me enough. He was just too embarrassed to admit he was weak when it came to alcohol, so I didn't pry anymore.

Of course, that also lead to another awkward silence as we meandered through the dark hallways, trying to find our way back to our section of guest rooms. Mist was nodding off, making me have to carry her on my back like Ike had been earlier. God, I wish I had Ike's strength.

Ike pointed me to Mist's room, and I told him where the room Mia and I shared was so that he could bring Mia there.

I carried Mist into her room, dropping her onto her bed, and then turning for the door... But something else caught my eye. Not her medallion that was glowing under her shirt, but something much simpler. It was the balcony her room had that looked out over Sienne. Mist was already out, so I figured she wouldn't care if I stayed a little longer to admire the view she got when Mia and I only got a small window in the corner that was looking at another tall building. It was hardly a view at all from our room.

But Mist's view went all the way out over the section of lower class citizens that surrounded the elite center of the city. I could even see beyond the outskirts of town to the hills that slowly formed mountains the farther they went.

The view was so beautiful it hurt to look at, but I kept my eyes glued anyways. With a clear sky, the stars were visible, and a crescent moon hung above, shining it's light onto my face.

Why was Mist even _allowed_ to have all of this to herself? It just wasn't fair!

"Meia?" Someone whispered.

I turned to see Ike again. I was kind of disappointed because now the peace and quiet was gone.

Ike closed the door behind him, trying to be as quiet as possible, "What are you still doing here?"

"Looking." I whispered back, even though there was really no point, because we were whispering so loudly it would have disturbed Mist if she wasn't so drunk. Hell, we could be smashing cymbals and yelling and screaming and Mist wouldn't wake up at this point. I turned back to the glory of Sienne, "It's just too beautiful."

Ike closed the french style doors behind him as he walked out onto the balcony. While I didn't really care, he was probably worried that his sister would wake up even though she had already passed the point of no return. "I guess I can't really blame you, then."

"Mmhmm." Was all I really had left to say. I more just wanted him to be quiet, but even his presence was hard to ignore.

"You know," Ike began in a whisper again as he leaned against the railing beside me. I restrained from rolling my eyes, because I was no longer in the mood for talking. "I know a lot about the others, like what makes them happy, what makes them sad, why they're fighting for us..."

I purposefully turned my head slightly in the opposite direction. I didn't like where this was going.

"But I don't know a lot about you except for that we found you in the training field. I don't know why you're fighting with us, why you were there... I don't really know who you are."

I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lip. What was I going to say? 'Yeah, if you really want to know, I come from another freakin' world where you're all _fictional characters!_' I can't imagine that going over well.

Instead, I put my hands on the railing and sighed, "If you ask me, I think it's better that way." Oh, so now I'm going to be the mysterious bitch. Yay...

Ike just stared at me, face blank (which meant he looked mad, seeing as that's how his face is.) I honestly couldn't tell if he was okay with that answer, or desperately wanted to know more. I 'casually' looked away again, hoping the white moonlight was washing out the red in my cheeks.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine." He said after about a minute or two (or what felt like that long,) "I was just curious."

Good. I almost sighed in relief. "I don't really want to talk about it."

Another minute of silence before, "What about you're family? Did they die when you were young?"

"No." I said calmly, "My family isn't dead."

This surprised Ike for some reason. I guess he was expecting me to say 'Yes, they died when I was young, so I kill people for a living now.' He looked back over Sienne for a moment, and then turned to me once more, "Your mother, your father... They're still alive?"

I had a feeling this may just turn out disastrous, but I decided to tell a _partial _truth, "Yeah. I have a younger sister, too. She's only a year younger than me. Apparently we look alike, too." Just thinking about her made me smile. I was realizing just how much I missed them. The longest I had been away from my sister was three weeks, not several months in a world where there was no chance whatsoever of seeing her.

"Really? I didn't even know..."

I shrugged, "I didn't think it was something people needed to know." I crossed my arms over the railing and looked straight down. The height wasn't so bad, as we were only about four stories off the ground (the ceilings were really high on the first floor), but it still made my stomach feel funny again. Or was that the mystery-alcoholic-liquid?

"When was the last time you saw your family?" He asked in an oddly soft voice.

I bit my lip again. It was time to start mixing in lies with the truth. "Quite a while ago."

Ike nodded, "I see. Where are they now?"

I looked at him suspiciously out the corner of my eye. Why was he so curious, anyways? Then again, he claimed he wanted to know more about me. What was I going to answer him with? "I'm not entirely sure." I watched as he slowly nodded, about to open his mouth when I added quickly, "If you don't mind, I'd like to stop talking about them." I didn't need this situation getting any worse, so I pushed away from the railing, "I'm going to bed. Good night."

Ike was caught off guard, but recovered quickly and even offered to walk me to my room. I told him I'd be fine and he should probably get to sleep before the drunken crowd downstairs brought their rowdiness up here. I kind of felt bad for leaving so abruptly, but I _really_ couldn't risk putting myself in a precarious position. Everyone would think I was completely crazy if I told them the truth about where I was from. I also didn't want to wreck things by telling them things that could change the course of the story. I didn't know what the consequences would be, and I really didn't want to find out.

Mia was already asleep when I got back and got changed into my night clothes (sadly, they didn't call them 'pajamas' here) and climbed into bed. I still couldn't believe I told Ike about my family. Actually, it didn't matter who it was, I was surprised I ended up telling _anybody_ about my currently non-existent family.

Thinking about them again, my mom, my dad and my little sister... My heart hurt. It wasn't the same kind of hurt as on the ship when I had the nightmare... This one was an empty hurt. Before I knew it, I had tears in my eyes. I was crying, ad the sobs grew louder. As the tears ran down my cheeks, I found myself wanting my mom, or maybe even my sister, to come comfort me. That wasn't going to happen, and I ended up crying myself to sleep all alone...

* * *

FE Frog: My, that ended rather depressing-ly. But I would probably cry if I was away from my family for that long. And if you hadn't noticed yet, I'm one of those special people who has a really good relationship with their sibling (well, usually.) My sister is actually, like, the most important important person in my life... Just don't tell her that.

Anyways... No matter how sad it was at the end, I still need a balance. A story is no good if it's all humour, or even all sadness. You need a balance of both. I also want to make it realistic! … Because suddenly appearing in a video-game's world is _so_ realistic.

The star (*The way you stand... etc) is actually something my fencing coach has been nagging me about lately (because apparently my point-control is off because I'm not crouching enough...) I kind of wish my class wasn't mostly beginners because my coach ends up snapping at my friend and I about our form, and none of the beginners... Then again, I kind of appreciate it as well so I'm not making a _complete_ fool out of myself at provincials or the Governor Generals... And yet I still manage too -_- At least I didn't come in last in provincials, though! There were a few girls that were pretty bad (compared to the others there, because you can't really be that bad if you're at provincials XD), but also some from the National Team *_* The Governor General's was scarier, though,a nd I won;t deny coming in last. Of course, if you saw who I was up against, you would understand. One of them was this Algerian chick who apparently went to the Olympics in Beijing *dies* ANYWAYS, enough of my fencing... I usually try to be somewhat modest and this is probably making me seem like a show-off...

And this is random, but some of the things may explain why I have a hard time updating fast! (*cough* once every 7 months *cough*) aaaaand it may be somewhat/mildly amusing to you. I hope it doesn't seem too bold. I'm just bored and felt like MAYBE my readers may want to know a little more about me ^_^ Or not... You can always skip over this pointless list that wastes a lot of space.

So here goes...

10 Things You Probably (Hopefully) Never Knew About FE Frog:

**1. I am a coward. **I can't kill _anything_, not even a mosquito. Okay, except for ants. Ants deserve no mercy from me when they randomly invade my house on rainy days... Everything else, I cannot kill. I make my sister do it for me.

Ex: FE Frog: *Walks into bathroom to take a shower... sees a spider in the bathtub* CHRISTIANE!

Christy: What is it _now_?

FE Frog: THERE'S A SPIDER IN THE BATHTUB! KILL IT!

Christy: No. Kill it yourself for once.

FE Frog: I CAN'T! COME KILL IT!

Christy: Oh for the love of... Why?

FE Frog: ... Um... Because... *Light bulb goes off* BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T KILL IT, YOU WON'T BE HAVING YOUR SHOWER ANYTIME SOON!

Christy: *Grumbles* Fine, I'll kill it.

FE Frog: Yay!

I also can't stand blood, and my 'phobia' is getting worse and worse. Now I can't even hear people describing cutting themselves by accident on something, etc, without screaming for them to shut up, or covering my ears and cowering in a corner.

And this coming from the person who, when fencing and can't seem to get a hit on target, decides to give the opponent as many bruises as possible. No, I'm not being mean. I have _scars_ from them (Well, from that one girl at the other club who is insanely good. Plus I was doing epee...) so I deserve to give them bruises. It's better than getting overly frustrated.

And Christiane isn't my sister's _real_ name, just the name I use for her in my stories.

**2. I am a k-pop celebrity gossip junkie.** This is my main distraction. I don't check allkpop every day, but only when I'm on the computer (which is almost everyday...) And, coincidentally, I only really write these stories on the computer because I'm too lazy to transcribe anything in my notebooks to Google Docs.

**3. I get distracted way too easily on the computer. **You know how when you're doing a project and you go on wikipedia (even if your teacher strictly said not to) and there are so many tantalizing links to other pages about random crap that will never EVER be useful? Oh yes, and you click them? No? Oh, so it's just me then... Awkward...

**4. I LOVE goldfish crackers. **And this coming from the girl whose other favourite foods are all fruits and berries and veggies? (Yes, my favourite foods actually _are_. Except mushrooms. Mushrooms are disgusting. I'd rather have Mist's shoe-flavoured glop) But I love cheese on the side... Except I hate salty foods. Weird. (Salty as in McDonald's french fries, the little pretzels, salt, salt on corn, salt on any other food. I know it adds flavour, and I use it when cooking, but stuff covered in salt is DISGUSTING!) So, what did any of that have to do with goldfish crackers? Cheez, I was hoping you could tell me.

**5. I love watching things on YouTube. **You know, like nigahiga, =3, KevJumba, Community Channel, Shane Dawson, Eat Your Kimchi (no? No kimchi for you? Oh well...), watching three geeks kill microwaves with Tickle-Me-Elmos, etc. This is another of my main distractions (I can get distracted for hours on end... I hate it)

**6. I actually have a younger sister** *gasp*

... No? Not a surprise? I didn't really think so. I just had to fill space with _something_ cause I was an idiot and put 10 things. Her real name is the same as a Fire Emblem character, except one less letter. Maybe you can try and guess. Clue: It's a character from somewhere between 7 and 10, and it's NOT a guy. Narrows it down, doesn't it XD

**7. I write so much it's ridiculous.** The only thing is... No one will ever read most of it! Yay! No, seriously, in the past 4 years, I've filled... *Gets up and counts for 20 minutes* 22 is all I could find. Some are big, some are small, some have 80 pages, some have 300 (the big, 300 page one I managed to fill in one summer... And it wasn't the only notebook I was writing in...) but they're all filled. I also have about... 5 or 6 or so on the go.

**8. I have friends** *le gasp!* A lot, actually. Friends from German school, regular school, my old school, fencing, my cottage... Plenty ^_^

**9. I have a life.** Though it may not seem like it sometimes, I'm even surprised of how much of a life I have after all! (Really, I always thought I was a lost case) I fence, I write, I have school (and, again, surprisingly I'm pretty smart even though I may not seem like it. Last semester I averaged at 87% (I was so shocked!) ... But my Religion mark brought me down. Stupid religion class. One of the many reasons I dislike going to a Catholic school. I can't wait for World Religions.)

**10.** Okay, so this one you may know (or not?)... But here goes... **My name is ACTUALLY Meia.** Pronounced 'Maya' or 'M-EYE-A') Why, you may ask? Well, hopefully you're not laughing at me (although only people who speak Portuguese would) but it's because of my mom and her German-ness (ah, Mama and you're mispronunciations of Portuguese words)

So, my parents wanted to name me 'Maja' (also pronounced 'Maya' because in German a_ j _makes a _y_ (non-vowel kind) sound) after the famous cartoon character Biene Maja. Yes, I'm named after a cartoon bumble bee... You can stop laughing now. Save it for after _this_.

Before my mom was even pregnant with me, she worked at the LCBO (an Ontario store where they sell any and all types of liquor/alcohol) where she saw a Portuguese bottle of red wine called 'Meia Pipa'. Now, traditionally, Meia is pronounced 'May-a' (Like the month may, and then add an _ah_ sound at the end) and it means half-pipe. So Meia means half... It's not even a noun but an _adjective_. My name is an adjective_._ But my mom, being German, pronounced it the way it's pronounced because in German 'ei' makes an 'eye' sound ('ie' makes an 'ee' sound... Confused, eh?)

Now if you're laughing and find this funny, it only gets better. If you're sighing and actually pity me, it only gets worse.

So I, being the _clever_ person I am *cough* HAH! *cough*, translated 'Meia' from Portuguese to English. You can even try it right now if you want, because this is legit. Turns out my name is also a noun. But a very embarrassing noun.

... My name means sock.

Not plural 'socks' but singular. _Sock_. And for further proof, my mom and I were shopping and saw a pair of pantyhose with Portuguese information on the back (FYI, it also means 'stocking', but again, only singular) and the first word was, you guessed it, 'Meia'.

So what do you get when you mix a cartoon bumble bee and a bottle of Portuguese red wine? No, you do not get a drunk bumble bee with frizzy yellow hair who is beginning to think her nerdy friend looks kind of hot. You get me, whose name also doubles as a _sock_.

And why, do you ask, am I telling complete strangers about all of this? Because I trust that no random pedobear is reading my stories and will now stalk me because I'm probably the only girl in Canada (or even North America, probably) who's named 'sock' in Portuguese (obviously, neither of my parents are remotely Portuguese. A shame, too, because they know no cool Portuguese people then... What? Portuguese guys are hot... Personal experience ;)

No, I wrote all of this because I figured you guys would laugh at my partial misfortunes. (No longer being able to buy fishie crackers every Saturday is definitely a misfortune to me.) Yes, I figured you were all sadistic who find other people's unfortunate lives to your amusement. I am _so_ nice aren't I?

Anywho! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the little facts about me. Next up is where I live and my address so you can stalk me and send me pedobear flowers! Naw, I kid (Pedobear reader: Oh... *feels dejected*) I would never do that because that would just be weird XD I mean, you already know I live in Canada (narrows down to 34 million people) and then in Ontario (now narrowed down to 12 million) and then in some small town outside of a big city... Wow, there's only, like, 6-10 cities I may be talking about... Okay, never mind. For some reason I counted Sault-Ste-Marie as a big city, so it's less than that XD Would Thunderbay and Sudbury count as big cites? If not you can bring the number down to, like, 4.

-_-' I ramble to much.

Ciao!

... And review! I write this stuff for you guys, after all! Because you people find my self-deprecating/really random humour hilarious for some unknown reason. And people say I'm weird. (Well... I AM the one who writes it! And enjoys writing it... But I _almost_ enjoy your reviews better. _Almsot_.)

I write the most pointless ending author's notes in existence. Maybe I don't have a life after all...


	16. Talk About Boring

FE Frog: My, my, my... I'm updating so much nowadays! So much for having a life... Anyways, I finished _writing_ the chapter at 11, but now it's 12:30 and the music I'm listening to (which is mostly really calming songs) is NOT helping. Maybe I should switch to something more upbeat to keep myself awake enough to write the rest of this... Of course, I'll be posting it in the morning, when all you guys are actually going to SEE it (nowadays it shouldn't make much of a difference because PoC is STILL on the first page. So few people write fics for the FE fandom anymore).

Whatever. I'm rambling... And Yawning. Which is hard with these elastics my orthodontist is making me wear. I can't even open my mouth all the way.

...

...

AGAIN, I'm rambling. Okay, I'll stop.

Thank to these reviewers for... reviewing! (What else?) And providing excellent (and random XD) conversation! How many authors do YOU know that like to talk to all of the people who read their stories?

**Dathedr  
spygirly  
SuperNova23  
Meru-64**

Yeah, that's it for now. Enjoy this anti-climactic chapter! I PROMISE the next one will get back into the battles. I would have even included the battle in this one, but 5,000 words was already going a little overboard. So I'll include it in the next chapter.

Also, I hope the 'fight-scene' (*cough* random training *cough*) is okay. I wasn't too proud of it, but at the same time I was... Whatever.

One last warning is that, in my opinion, this chapter isn't as funny as the others, unless you find people making fun of Meia amusing.

ENJOY!

* * *

That morning I woke up, my cheeks feeling tight thanks to dried tears. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, which felt sort of crusty thanks to both sleep and having cried. Same with my nose. Ugh, why did many girls think they looked _pretty_ when they cried? _No one_ did.

After stretching my arms out, I rolled out of bed and continued my usual morning stretches. Once my muscles were limber enough, I looked over to Mia's empty bed, sighing that she hadn't woken me up. Of course, today it wasn't such a problem seeing as we were to relax in Begnion for the next few days.

I took my time getting dressed, deciding I would bathe after I trained for a few hours. Unlike yesterday, I pulled on a pair of cotton leggings, a form-fitting deep green tunic, and, of course, a belt around my waist. Not to mention my leather boots.

I kept my hair down, quickly brushing it before I headed down to the dining hall for a breakfast I assumed would be set out for us.

And the food was all laid out, but hardly anyone was there to eat it. The laguz were silently eating at one end of the table, but there were few humans- I mean _beorc. _

I sat down beside Rolf, who was one of the few people I knew fairly well. "Hey, where's everyone else?"

Rolf looked up from what looked like a croissant, "The others?" He blinked his big blue eyes at me, "I don't know. I guess a lot of people want to sleep in. You know, take advantage of our time here and do nothing."

It made enough sense. No one got to relax on the ship, despite the fact that there was nothing to do. There was the possibilty of Daein following us, or that we would have another run-in with the flying pirates. There was always a threat. Here in Sienne, no one had to worry. Invading Sienne for Princess Elincia would be a stupid move on Ashnard's part, not only because his entire army would be completely obliterated (God knows Zelgius could take them down all on his own), but it would give Begnion a reason to act on Daein, and destroy the country completely.

In other words, we had absolutely nothing to fear except another outburst from Ike, which was probably not going to happen.

But I was still sceptical. I would have guessed most people were sleeping in to nurse their headaches. They would have pulled the curtains closed so that the sunlight didn't disturb them, and covered themselves in their down duvets.

People like Rolf and I, who hadn't bothered with the drinks, were down enjoying the day and eating our breakfast with clear heads.

"Mmm..." I licked my lips as I served myself a croissant, breaking it open and spreading strawberry preserve over the fluffy pastry. I hadn't had one of these for a _long_ time. After my croissant, I plopped a crepe onto my plate, then topped it with fresh cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries (YUM!), honey dew and any other fruit available. Sure, I probably wouldn't be able to wrap it up afterwards, but I enjoyed it anyways.

Servants brought out freshly made bacon and sausages, which I served and finished off in a matter of minutes. Who knows when I'll be able to eat like this again? Might as well enjoy the next few days...

I was downing a glass of fruit juice when Mist plopped down beside me, hunched over with dark circles under her eyes. I put down my glass and smirked at her, "Did you sleep well, Mist?"

She turned to me, her expression unchanging even though I knew she wanted to glare. "Shut up."

I chuckled, "There's a reason that, where I come from, little ones like yourself aren't allowed to drink."

"_Shut up._" She groaned, crossing her arms on the table and dropping her head onto them.

Rolf leaned forward to look around me, "Are you okay, Mist?" There was genuine worry in his voice, unlike with me. I was completely unsympathetic because she brought it onto herself. Plus, _I_ was the one who ended up having carrying her up.

Mist lifted her head slightly, "No... I feel so... Blah."

"Blah, huh?" I tried to keep the amusement from taking over my voice completely, "Sucks for you."

This time she did glare at me, "I hate you for letting me drink that much."

I put up my hands in innocence, "Hey, I don't remember you telling me to stop you. Plus, you were starting to get aggressive."

Mist dropped her head onto her arm again, grumbling loudly and unattractively.

I finished off my fruit juice and looked over the table for anything else I was willing to eat. I was pretty full by now and didn't want to overdo it, but it all just looked so good! A croissant ended up being the finale for me.

I got up to leave just as a wave of zombie-like people were walking in to claim their food and head up back to bed. Perfect timing.

I wandered around Mainal, in all the areas we were allowed to visit (or the non-restricted sections) as I let myself digest. After an hour of wandering, I went back up to me room to get my full water-skin (the servants even did things like fill them if you left them out in the open with a note) and headed down to the training yard.

What surprised me, even though it shouldn't have, was seeing Mia and Ike practicing together. I wouldn't have thought Mia to be practicing in her condition (*cough* hangover *cough*) but there she was, getting her ass handed to her by Ike. When she noticed me, she called for a halt and told me to take her place so she could take a break and tend to her bruises (and pounding head.)

"One moment," I said, moving to one of the open areas where Mia was sitting, gulping from her own water-skin. I lunged forward and stayed in that position for a moment, stretching the muscles in my legs. I always ended up hurting my legs when I fenced without stretching first.

"Okay." Ike said, joining Mia and drinking from his own skin.

Being the person I am, I couldn't help teasing Mia, "So, how are you feeling?"

Mia shot me a dirty look, "Don't."

I chuckled again, "I'm surprised your practicing."

This time Mia smirked, "Well, Meia, unlike you, I don't let anything stop me from training."

I narrowed my eyes at her, but didn't say anything in return. That was a bit too harsh... Even if it might be true. I finished up my stretches and picked out a practice iron blade with it's sharp edges dulled, because I needed to practice with heavier weapons. "Ready, Ike?"

Ike looked at my choice in sword, "Is that what you want to practice with?"

I shrugged, "Why not?" And then grinned, "What, are you afraid?"

"Hah." He said simply, "You're funny." He went to the weapons rack and put away his dulled steel sword in exchange for a steel blade, "Ready?"

I rolled my shoulders and got into position, altering my en guarde to allow a two-handed stance, "Hey, I was the one who asked _you_ in the first place."

Ike got into position as well, his sword lower just like I had showed him months ago. He concentrated on me for a moment before relaxing, "Meia, what are you doing?"

I blinked, "Uh... I'm in en guarde?" Was I doing something wrong?

Ike stuck his sword in the dirt so it would stand up, and walked over to me, "First of all, you're knees should be bent more." He put a hand on my head and pressed down so I was forced into an almost-crouch, "And secondly, you're arms looks all tense. If you're going to be holding a two-handed sword, relax a little. You'll need especially fast reflexes, and tense arms will slow you down." He adjusted the way my arms were positioned, bending my arms at the elbow slightly to allow easier movement. I almost wanted to roll my eyes. It was my fencing coach all over again...

"Hey Meia!" Mia called from where she was seated in the grass, "Still going to put off training?"

I stuck my tongue out at her while she just laughed.

Ike put a hand to his chin as he admired his work, "Okay... That should do for now." He went back, pulled his sword out of the ground and got into position, arms and shoulders relaxed but ready.

Mia had gotten up by now and sat on a moveable stump next to out strip, "Are you guys going to go by rules, or just fight until someone gives up?"

Ike grinned at me, "Let's go until someone gives up. Does that sound good?"

I glared back at him, but I wasn't about to back down from the challenge, "Sure."

"Okay!" Mia exclaimed cheerily, "Ready?" Ike and I both nodded. "Fight!"

Neither of us ran at each other only to clash swords and grit our teeth in each other's faces. No, I wanted to be more tactful about it, and Ike seemed to be of the same mind. We slowly approached, circling to see where the best opening was. I ran over several possible moves in my head, but all had to do with a weightless fleurette, not a two-handed blade as broad as this one. A better idea, I eventually figured out, would be developing blocks first.

Ike lunged forward, but I parried like I would a fleurette, and riposted. I wasn't expecting to hit, and I didn't because Ike backed away too quickly, but it was something.

"Direct attacks aren't such a great idea with blades," Ike said, continuing to circle, "They're too slow. Try drawing your opponent in and go from there." He lunged again, and this time I took a step back, forcing him to follow suit. Of course, one step of his meant two of mine, so he was now closer than before. I raised my sword in a block I'd only ever seen in sabre as he went for a cut this time. With Ike's blade now trapped against mine, I pushed and went around, pushing his arm to the side. Now I had a big opening, which I took advantage of.

None too surprisingly, Ike brought his arm back just in time, blocking my sword the same way I had blocked his. He chuckled, "Do I still need to take it easy on you?"

I ground my teeth together and tightened my grip on the hilt of my sword, pushing his blade away, albeit with some difficulty. I rushed forward to get him in the new opening, but he simply pivoted to the side and swung at my back.

Just like his father had to him.

I yelped as I fell to the ground, but I wasn't knocked out like Ike had been because I managed to keep my head from hitting too hard. The breath was still knocked out of me, making me gasp for air, but I managed to push myself off the ground.

Ike stood over me, driving his blade through the soil once again, "I thought I told you to relax. You can't get all worked up like that."

I kept my eyes on the dirt under my hands and knees, gritting my teeth together. Before I realized it, my hands had curled into fists, my knuckles turning white. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Ike get down on one knee, a hand draped over the other.

"Are you okay?" He asked, a _hint_ of worry in his voice.

I pushed off the ground, grabbing my sword as I got up quickly, "I'm fine." But my voice suggested differently.

Ike looked a little annoyed now, "Do you want to take a break?"

"No." I answered fiercely, getting into position again. Ike sighed and followed suit, motioning for me to bend my knees more again, which I did half-assly, and then he nodded to Mia.

"Ready?" Mia said, standing now, "Fight!"

I took a deep, shaky breath. What could I do? Instead of acting right away, I decided to try something else. A test. I lunged weakly, trying to see Ike's reactions. It was a simple parry each time. The swords were far too heavy for a feint, so there wasn't a whole lot I could do with what I'd learned. Unless...

I lunged again, fully expecting his parry and riposte, but I continued my attack. I took his blade with my own, turning mine against his. Our blades, interlocked with me in control, were about as high as our heads when I slid the guard of my sword against his blade, closing the distance, and then brought my blade slowly to his neck. Had it been a real blade, and Ike a real opponent, I would have gone much faster, either decapitating him or severing several important organs in his neck. This was practice, so I went slowly to not hurt him.

Ike grinned once more. "Good." He said simply, "Nice move." And then he back away, putting enough distance between us to free his blade. With speed I didn't know he possessed, he beat my sword to the side and out of my hand, grabbed my arm, and turned me so my back was against his chest once more. He held my wrist as his arm was stretched across my chest, his blade at my neck. I panted, my chin lifted high above the cold metal of his sword, even if it was dulled.

"Just make sure the move works, otherwise _this_ happens." He said, his breath tickling my ear.

"I-I j-j-just..." I started stuttering, "D-Didn't w-want to h-hurt you!"

And then he laughed, loosening his grip on my wrist before pulling his arm away, and finally, his blade, "I know. I just wanted to see how you would react, and if you were able to stop me."

I glared at him, but I couldn't help the heat rising to my cheeks from being made fun of like that. "It's kind of hard to stop you, Ike. You're a lot stronger than the last time I fought you."

"And so are you."

That surprised me, making my eyebrows shoot up. I was... stronger? Since when? I thought my fighting skills had remained static since we left Crimea. Apparently the little fighting I did against the crows on the ship had helped...

I picked up my sword, brushing it off as I casually walked over, "I didn't know." I walked back over to where I had been before, only a few feet in front of Ike... And then I went for another hit, attempting to cut horizontally. Ike's reflexes were also a lot faster than I thought they would be, and he stopped my blade easily, pushing back and lifting his blade to come at me from above. I saw the opening and went for it, but the blade weighed me down and I was too slow. Ike's sword came down on my left shoulder, and I cried out in pain, dropping my sword. Thank God that hadn't hit my head, other wise who knows what could have happened.

A healer I hadn't even noticed by the building rushed over, raising what looked to be a Recover staff. The pain disappeared, just like that, and I grabbed my sword again. The healer yelped, running off to safety as I got right back into the fight.

Over and over, our swords met, none coming close to actually hitting the other's body. I sincerely hoped Ike wasn't still going easy on me, which may explain why he hadn't knocked me out by now. As the battle went on, I was more and more convinced Ike was fighting properly, not holding back. Of course, I wasn't sure.

I was starting to get frustrated by this lack of progress, and it looked like Ike was too. We started fighting dirty, elbowing each other when possible, and sometimes even using our legs. Mia called halt several times, but neither of us wanted to stop. _Someone_ had to win, and if one of us had to tire out the other, then so be it.

I must admit, I was starting to get tired, but I refused to give up. I kept going strong, until a tiny slip up had me on my knees, with Ike twisting my arm back. My sword had been tossed 10 feet away. I wasn't done yet. If Ike wanted to fight _this_ dirty, then he had another thing coming. Who knew my dad teaching me some of the tings he had learned from judo and kumite fighting would come in handy?

With my free hand, I quickly grabbed Ike's knee, digging my thumb into the tender spot in the back, which immediately made him release my arm. I jumped back up, reaching for my sword, but Ike stopped me, discarding his sword and twisting both arms behind my back.

"Give up already." He commanded. Twisting my arms more so I was up on my tip toes, back arched and eyes squeezed shut.

I tried pulling my arms free, but to no avail. I didn't want to give up, yet the only way out I could think of was the lowest of the low, and I wasn't going to risk Ike's ability to have children for a little fight.

I was done.

Reluctantly, I said through grit teeth (not because I was upset, but because I was in pain) "Fine. I give up."

Ike let go immediately, going to fetch the swords lying on the ground as I stood, rubbing my reddened wrists.

Mia got up from her stump and thumped me on the back, "Good job for lasting that long! I didn't think you would!"

I looked at her blankly, "Gee, thanks."

She scrunched her nose up, "But you guys started fighting real dirty. You should have both stopped when I said 'halt'."

Ike, who had put the swords away, came back, "Now why would we stop? In a real fight, there's no referee calling the shots. In a situation like this, you may just be down to your hands and feet. Might as well learn to use them."

Mia wasn't all too convinced, "Still. It's obvious who would win in a fist fight between the two of you. It's not nice to hit a girl, either."

I sighed and threw my arm around her shoulders, "A feminist telling Ike not to hit me because I'm a girl and that I would lose in a fist fight? Mia, have you gone mad?"

"If it was anyone else but you, I wouldn't have said it."

I withdrew my arm, "Cheez..." And walked away to get a drink of water. I was done training for today.

I took a quick bath afterwards, scrubbing the grime and sweat from my body. Thankfully no one else had joined me, because apparently Begnion liked co-ed baths, despite it's laws being very strict and the wealthy pretty stiff themselves. Or maybe it was just co-ed for guests. No doubt Sanaki had a bigger bath all to herself (and believe me, the guest bath was the size of a swimming pool or two, just not quite as deep.)

After getting changed into clean clothes and leaving my dirty ones in the hamper to be cleaned, I decided to just wander around again. Mia and I were planning to go out shopping in the city for an entire day soon, so there was no point going outside of the cathedral for an hour or two on my own.

I wasn't entirely sure where I was going to go, so I just went, deciding instead to see where I would end up. The cathedral was beautiful no matter where I went, anyways.

Staying out of the restricted areas like before (i.e. The Empress's personal quarters, the Senate's quarters, etc.) I eventually ended up at the end of a long hallway I hadn't seen before, probably near the west end of the building, facing a more tattered looking door. It wasn't the servants' wing, I knew _that_, but it wasn't as clean and pretty as the rest of the cathedral either.

Looking around carefully, I didn't see anyone, so I opened the old door, smiling when I found it unlocked. The darkness to consumed me inside as I slowly climbed the steps. I had a feeling it wouldn't be so dark once I reached the top, so I just had to pray I wasn't going to walk through a man-eating house spider's web in the mean time.

Just as I thought, there was a light that appeared on the wall after a minute of slow climbing. When I rounded the corner, I saw a window letting in the afternoon sunlight. The room at the top of the stairs was larger than I had expected, but it was all storage. There were old chairs that needed reupholstering, an old clock that didn't tick anymore, and other things. In the corner there was even a bed, the only sheet being a thin layer of dust with the outline of someone having had sat there not too long ago.

With that realization, I narrowed my eyes and scanned the room, keeping as quiet as possible. My silence didn't help thanks to the voices drifting up from down on the streets, so I decided to try something different. "Is anyone here?"

No answer.

I looked back at the bed, then touched the spot where someone had sat. No dust whatsoever, except for the stuff that had been flattened into the fabric. Someone had been here quite recently indeed, but there was no guarantee they were still here.

I sighed, giving up. There was no one here but me, so I lifted the mattress and flipped it. What I saw there made me gasp. A big patch of blood. It was of a brownish colour, meaning it wasn't at all fresh, but it surprised me nevertheless. The blood was probably the reason the mattress was here.

I left the mattress alone, sitting in one of the old armchairs instead (having flipped the cushion over both to get the cleaner side and make sure it didn't have blood on it either.) The chair was comfy too, but not as comfy as the bed would have been. Too bad.

Leaning back and closing my eyes, I brushed away the thought of the blood and let myself relax. It really was peaceful up here. Peaceful and quiet...

The blood stain on the mattress popped back into my head. So much for relaxation. I opened my eyes and got up, sitting on the mattress's cleaner areas, and stared at the blood. Who's was it? There was so much blood... Was someone murdered on this mattress? Someone important, or just a servant? I wanted to know, but I didn't want to ask anyone. What if I wasn't even supposed to be up here?

My mind was so preoccupied I barely noticed the figure standing by the window, staring at me. When I did, I kept my head turned to the stain, to fool them into thinking I still hadn't seen them. Who was the person there? It looked like a woman in a thin white dress with indigo coloured hair, a lot like Sanaki's. I closed my eyes, counting down in my head before I would look over and confront the person there. _3... 2...1!_

I whipped my head around, but there was no one. I blinked, then raised an eyebrow. No one? I could have sworn I saw someone standing there, and they definitely knew I was here. Getting up from the bed and going to the window, I looking down to see if maybe the woman jumped. Down below people were bustling around as usual, but there was no woman with indigo hair and a white dress flattened on the ground like a pancake.

As I settled into my chair from before, I realized it may not have even been a 'person'. Was the woman a ghost? Possibly the ghost of the person who died on that bed? The thought sent chills down my spine. I never did like ghosts.

Suddenly, the doors of one of the armoires burst open, making me scream and fall off my chair. I put a hand to my chest as I looked up, seeing a girl with the same indigo hair standing in front of the armoire, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.

"I can't _stand_ it in there one more minute." She turned to me, and I immediately recognized those golden eyes that were narrowed in my direction. "You _again_?"

I scrambled to my feet, "I-I'm sorry... Did I disturb you?" I couldn't risk offending the Empress again.

Sanaki snorted, crossing her arms over the loose dress she wore in favour of her countless robes from before, "Of course you did." And then she raised an eyebrow, "Why are you acting like that? Not going to threaten me with your sword again?"

"I can if you-" I stopped, releasing my clenched fist, "No. I'm smarter than that. Why didn't you have me killed, anyways?"

Sanaki rolled her eyes, "Do you honestly think I have the time? If it was someone _important_ I might have, but you're not worth it. You're not even from this country."

"Oh." I said, swallowing, "So... You didn't get everyone drunk to torture me either?"

The laugh that came from her now made me flush. "W-What? AHAHAHA! Did you actually... AHAHAHA!"

"I'm glad you find it amusing..." I mumbled, then pressed my lips together to keep anything else from coming out.

The Apostle grabbed the wooden frame of the bed, "You're hilarious, really..." She wiped her eyes this time before turning slightly more serious, "What are you doing here anyways? Did Tanith send you up to find me? Sigrun maybe? Or did one of the Senate's pay you to hunt me down, perhaps?"

I shook my head to each. "No. I was just wandering around."

"Ah." She brushed her light pink dress off, as if there was actually dust on the silken fabric, "Quiet isn't it?"

"Not really." I said, carefully sitting on the my chair again. I hoped it was okay for me to sit in front of the Apostle. In Begnion, who knows what's allowed and what isn't.

Sanaki raised an eyebrow at me once more.

"We're talking." I clarified, "It's not really that quiet when people are talking."

"Oh." She waved it off, "I meant before that." The Empress looked down at the bed, the expression on her face changing to something I didn't recognize. She looked back up at me, what looked like pain in her eyes, "Did you turn the mattress?"

I blinked, "Uh... Yeah... I thought I might lie on the clean side, but it turned out to be covered in blood." I paused, then lowered my voice and asked, "Do you know who's blood it is?"

"Yes." Sanaki sounded so sullen now, "It's... It's my grandmother's."

My eyes widened. The woman I saw by the window... Was it a ghost after all? The ghost of Sanaki's grandmother? The one... The one killed by the herons? "M.." the name was on the tip of my tongue, and my eyebrows came together as I tried to coax it off, "Mi... Misaha?"

Sanaki nodded solemnly, "Yes." She looked back up at me, "But I know it wasn't the herons who did it." She touched the fabric, "I can't believe they didn't burn this accursed thing. I think the Senate _wanted_ me to see it, to let me know what happens when an Empress doesn't play as their puppet." Her fist balled up, knuckles going white, and she went as far as punching the mattress before sinking to her knees, "I hate being Empress."

I couldn't do much else but stare. Why was Sanaki even telling me all this? Had I hit a soft spot in her? Carefully, I got up and kneeled down beside her, "You're doing a great job, though."

Sanaki looked up at me, fire in her eyes, "Why do you think? The Senator's are the manipulators. I'm too 'young' to make decisions on my own. Only Prime Minister Sephiran ever even listens to me."

I didn't know what else to say, and I was afraid to rub her back or even touch her shoulder to comfort her. It was then I realized Sanaki was only ten years old. So young to be ruler of the greatest country on the continent, and, according to legend, in the world.

Sanaki sniffed, rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, and rose up again, looking like nothing had happened, "I apologize that you had to see that." She was no longer ten, carrying herself like she was thirty once more, "I really should learn to control my emotions more."

I looked up and shrugged, "It's okay. If you need to let it out, let it out. It's bad to hold it in."

She frowned, "Well, I guess I will just have to risk it. And please do not speak to me so informally."

I was taken aback. One moment the Empress was spilling her heart out, the next she's back to her old self. I closed my eyes and bit my lip to restrain from threatening her again like last time. "Fine." I said as coolly as I possibly could, "I'll just leave, then." And that's what I did, nearly tripping on one of the stairs as I hurried down them.

Once out the door, I slowed back down, mostly because I knew I would start seeing the servants soon. On my way down the hallway, Tanith passed by, unsmiling as usual.

"Wait."

I stopped and turned, trying to look clueless, "Yeeees?"

Tanith didn't even blink. "Have you seen the Apostle around here?"

I shook my head, "Nope! Can't say I have." Just as I said that, Sanaki opened the door. She gasped when she saw who I was talking to and hid behind the wooden frame, peeking around the edge. I made small motions at my side with my hand for her to run into one of the rooms lining the hall. She nodded and put up three fingers as a countdown.

Tanith looked a little more suspicious this time, "Are you certain? She has a habit of... Wandering over here on occasions."

I moved my eyes back to Tanith as Sanaki put up two fingers, "I already said I haven't. It's a possibility she's here, because I was just looking around, but I didn't see her." I stuck shook my hand and Sanaki nodded, closing the door just as Tanith looked back. "Do you see something?" I asked. When Tanith looked back at me and Sanaki stuck her head out, I motioned for her to quickly move into one of the rooms. She nodded and did so, no count down this time.

Tanith wasn't convinced at all this time, "I was going to ask you the same thing. Seeing as I'm not getting the answer I want, I'll just leave you to your... _exploring_."

"Okay." I said, trying again to sound innocent and clueless. Tanith turned and continued down the hall, going through the door the Empress had left. Just as the door closed behind the Commander, Sanaki hurried out of her room, smiling just like the ten year old she was.

"Thank you." She said in a hushed voice as she ran past me.

I couldn't help the smile that came over my face as I watched her sprinting down the hall. Sure she might not hear me, but I said it anyways. "Your welcome."

With nothing left to do, I went back out to the training yard. I was tired, yes, but not enough to go to sleep. I was bored, and training seemed like a productive thing to do. I was just getting ready to start shooting at the target when Mia ran out and grabbed my arm.

"Whoa!" I said, pulling my arm out of her grasp, "What's going on?"

Mia rolled her eyes, "Oh, just come on! We don't have much time!"

I grabbed _her_ arm, "Mia, you have to tell me what's going on."

She stopped and sighed, "We have a mission to accomplish! Come on, we need to get ready!"

"Really?" There was no use hiding the excitement in my voice. _Finally_ something to get my blood pumping again!

"Yeah! Let's go!"

* * *

FE Frog: See? I told you it wasn't all that great. The fight scene probably looked a lot better in my head, too... But I tried to put it to words. It's hard. And even making up all the moves and whatnot was hard! Hopefully you guys understood even if I used a few fencing terms... Most are pretty simple, though, so there shouldn't be _too_ much of a problem.

Also, when I said 'fleurette' I didn't mean Mist's sword in Radiant Dawn... It's an actual term for one of the swords you can fence with, also called a foil. I'm a foilist. Well, I also do some epee, but not in several months because my epee broke and the swords are expensive :( (I should know, I have, like, 5 XD )

I found it funny, though, that after I wrote that part with Meia grabbing Ike's knee and using the pressure point there... Well, my dad did the same to me just today, and my God does it ever hurt (for a pressure point) so obviously it works XD (No, it wasn't child abuse... I was trying a sneak attack on my sister and he so happened to catch me. I said I loved her, didn't I? Sneak attacks just happen to be my way of showing her my love!)

Anyways... Um... Sanaki seemed a bit OOC to me... What about you? I tried to bring her back into character, but... I dunno. I guess I was trying to let her be a ten year old too much XD

I also wanted to make a whole scene with the bath, but... I don't know. I felt it would have been a little too predictable, even if it would have added more humour to the chapter (because God knows it was lacking in the department) Maybe I'll add it in next time! Just wondering, who would you most like Meia to see in the bath? If you know what I mean, of course... Because I doubt they had bathing suits back then. I know who _I_ had in mind... But I want to know who you would prefer! I'm good with writing anybody into it, because it's more or less generic. Just... Preferably a guy _ We'll see who has the most votes XD

Well... Erm... Yeah. That's about it. I'm going to bed and shall post this in the morning!

...

Actually, what the hell. I might as well post it now.


	17. Into The Fog

FE Frog: Um... Yeah... Hi! For those of you who don't read Just a Small Town Girl II, I was at my cottage for 2 weeks. Without any immediate access to internet. I mean, I went on when my parents came down and brought the Internet stick and stuff... But yeah. And I don't have a laptop (well, not anymore since my old one got all messed up several months ago. It was a piece of junk to begin with, anyways.) so all my writing is on my computer. And on GoogleDocs, meaning I need internet. Because I'm a loser.

And I'm just being random now.

OKAY! So... I'm _still_ not too sure about this chapter. It's kind of... odd... And I've been trying to avoid the type of scene that's here. No, it's not uber romancy... Or even that romancy to begin with. Just laughable fluff (fluff with fighting? Somehow, it's possible. It's like... Rough fluff XD) BUT IT'S NOT MY FAULT! I NEVER MEANT TO HINT AT _ANYTHING_ WITH _ANYBODY_ (Except for maybe some of my favs... Like... you'll see, eventually) BUT THANKS TO YOU I'M STARTING TO LIKE HIM MORE AND MORE DX I HATE YOU!

Well, now that that's done. Technically this chapter has been done since before I left, but I wanted to add the desert chapter too. Except I have yet to write anything past this chapter. So here. Because I'm sort of out of ideas for now.

ENJOY!

...

...

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Oh Crap! I almost forgot! Thanks to the following reviewers! I'm officially at 90 reviews! 10 more 'till the big **100**!

**kenegi  
kit kat  
Dathedr  
spygirly  
Rini Tsukino  
Meru-64  
Holy Star**

Okay, NOW you can enjoy XD

* * *

I squinted to try and see down the road through the fog. It was impossible. I couldn't even see 20 meters ahead, let alone all the way down the dirt road that the bandits- sorry, _merchants_- were _supposedly_ coming up. Sighing, I sat down on a conveniently located rock.

The wasn't much sound around, as we were supposed to keep quiet in case the _merchants_ heard us, so all I could really hear was the streams surrounding us and the occasional rustle from someone's clothes as they got into a more comfortable position to wait.

Mia was standing only a meter away from me, but Ike strictly forbade us from talking. Apparently it was '_for the best_'.

... Yeah right.

"... I smell something." Lethe whispered, waiting for Ike to look back before she pointed north. Not that she had to _point_. We knew where the merchants were coming from, Sigrun's scouts told us as much, but apparently they couldn't actually face off the 'merchants' by themselves.

Ike scanned the rest of us, "Wait until I motion for you to jump before we begin the ambush."

I got up from my rock, drawing my blade. Now we could hear the voices in the distance, laughing about something or other. They did not sound like merchants. They sounded like bandits.

It was another five minutes of standing and waiting before Ike raised a hand. He hadn't made the motion yet, but the bandits were getting pretty damn close.

And then Ike motioned forward, meaning it was time. We all jumped out from our hiding place behind the rocky hill. The lead horses were startled by the people suddenly in front of them and the shouts of their owners. The reared, tilting the carriages up and sending several crates to the ground, along with the drivers. Surprisingly, none of the crates broke, but that was the least of our worries.

The bandits drew their weapons quickly, as if they were expecting an ambush of some sort.

"Look alive, lads!" The purple haired leader shouted, "They're not common travelers, these ones!"

After asking Titania some questions, Ike turned to the rest of us, "Get ready to fight, everyone!"

We didn't have much time to plan out a strategy, so Soren placed us with the minutes he did have. I was to head north with some of the stronger foot units (the kid must have been mistaken sending me up, but I didn't have time to challenge him). Ike was also going north as well, leading our group up to take the damage from the axe-wielders there. Mia, Gatrie, Soren, Lethe and Rhys were to join. Mia, Gatrie and Lethe would make the front lines with Ike, while Soren and I took out enemies from behind, and Rhys was to come along for healing. Everyone else went east (Oscar, Rolf, Boyd, Mist, Titania and Marcia) to cover distance and get rid of those pesky mounted units before they could reach us.

I was quite surprised at how quickly Soren could figure it all out. It was a mircale he knew where the enemies were in the fog.

The eastern force set off, stopping by a house on the way to calm whoever was in there. We made our way over the bridge to form a pyramid-like shape. Gatrie, Ike, Lethe and Mia as the top three, Soren and I ready to take out enemies from behind them, and then Rhys as the top of the pyramid... Except he was at the bottom.

"Stay put." Soren said when we had gotten into position across the bridge. Already I could see a fighter with what looked like a steel axe, and an armoured knight not too far behind. "Let them come to us. We can't see the others, and we don't want to run into trouble."

_I_ could have told them that. Fog of War maps were a pain in the ass. But this wasn't a 'map' on a game. This was reality… Or something like that. I still wasn't entirely sure.

Mia, Ike and Lethe all more or less killed the enemies that were stupid enough to attack them. Gatrie was a little slower, and his inferior lance against the superior axe of the fighter in front of him didn't help. I almost let Soren take care of him, and it would have been a smart idea, too, seeing as most fighters had no resistance to magic whatsoever, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I got two shots on the fighter, one arrow embedding itself in his leg, the other in his stomach, and Gatrie delivered the final blow (managing to actually _hit._) The fighter fell to the ground with one last grunt.

Behind the fighter was a mage who was still trying to decided between attacking Lethe or Gatrie. Fire against beast, but the beast could dodge fairly easily. Magic against armoured knight, and armoured knight wouldn't be able to dodge easily. The decision was clear.

I put my bow back over my shoulder and pulled my longbow off the other as the mage opened up a tome to read from. If he thought I was going to let him attack _anyone_, he had another thing coming. Unfortunately, whatever muscle I had developed in Crimea had more or less melted away on the ship, so even if both of my arrows hit him, he was still standing limply, trying furiously to finish his spell.

"Gatrie!" I shouted as I grabbed another two arrows, "Watch out!" One shot was all I needed, but from this distance it was hard to actually hit.

The knight, who was a little worse for wear after fending off quite a few bandits without any proper healing, couldn't really afford to get hit with the mage's magic. It looked like an Elfire, too, which was especially potent with it's strength.

I managed to fit an arrow onto the string of my longbow and shot, which the mage side-stepped easily. At least I bought extra second of time for Gatrie to get his act together. I swore when my second arrow missed as well. Pulling out one more arrow and fitting it to the bowstring, I ran forward. If the dense knight wasn't going to move, I would have to at least _attempt_ to move him myself. Thank God he was tired, making it a little easier for me to run into him shoulder first. He lost his balance and staggered to the side just as the mage finished chanting, raised both arms, and spun in a circle. I lifted my bow and sent the arrow flying. Sure, the arrow buried itself right into the stupid mage's chest, killing him instantly, but it was a little late to stop his spell. I didn't even have time to dodge the oncoming inferno.

My eyes widened, but my feet stayed glued to the ground. I couldn't move if I wanted to. Instead, I simply cowered, lifting my hands to shield my face as if it would actually work. With my eyes closed, I couldn't even see the person sprinting towards me until I felt that person smash into me, knocking us both to the ground right as the blast of fire struck the ground where I had been standing.

"What were you thinking?"

I opened my eyes, blinking a few times until it registered that, yes, Ike was on top of me. I rubbed my eyes just to make sure. "Uh..." Oh, right, he wanted me to answer. "I couldn't move." Then I raised an eyebrow, "Why did you push me out of the way?"

For some reason, it didn't occur to him that _getting off_ would be a good idea. I think he still had a bit of the adrenaline in him that told him it was okay to nearly squish the life out of me. "Because you would have been KILLED! Didn't you see how he cast that spell?"

I blinked. Oh, right... That would have been a critical hit. Meaning I would have been killed. Roast Meia. _Yum _

"If I didn't do anything, Gatrie may have died." I said, brought back out of my thoughts.

"

Looking around, I saw that the others had already gone ahead on Soren's command. We were alone. _Great_. "Uh... Ike?" I said, feeling my cheeks warm up a bit. It was too icky and foggy for him to notice, right?

"Yeah?"

"You can get off of me now."

"Oh." He said, sounding pretty embarrassed. When I caught a glimpse of his face, I could see his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. Gradually, they got to a darker shade of pink, bordering on red.

I bit my lip as I looked around for Rhys, who was no doubt at the back of the group. But he was gone, and the fog was getting thicker. "Crap. We lost the others." The other thing? I don't know about Ike, but I felt a bit disoriented from being glomped, thrown to the ground and crushed, so I couldn't tell which direction they went.

Silence.

Well, silence aside from the dying screams of bandits and growls as feral laguz were brought into the fray. Those _were_ the feral ones, right? It was also quite possible someone had decided it just might be a good idea to pull Lethe's tail...

Then I heard splashing. It was hard to tell where it came from, as it echoed with every other sound, but I knew exactly what it was.

"Someone's coming." I whispered to Ike, drawing my blade. He nodded, then turned so we were back to back. "I think," I said, lowering my voice even more, "That there are some bandits in the back."

And just as I said that, a bandit appeared through the fog. Only he was so close I barely had time to react. _Barely_.

I slashed at the bandit before he even had a chance to attack, making him back away and recalculate his next move. I heard metal meeting metal behind me as well, meaning one of the bandits had found Ike as well. I don't remember there being this many bandits... It didn't make it much better when I caught a glimpse of another bandit coming at us from the right. There definitely weren't this many in the game.

"Where are they all coming from?" Ike asked as he fought. I couldn't really see, as I was focusing on _two_ bandits right now

"Hey, you're the one who tackled me to the ground." I said, stabbing at the other bandit. I really only cut his arm, but it was his axe arm, so now I had an advantage over him... If it was only him I was fighting.

A bandit cried out behind me, meaning Ike had killed him. Another took his place, from what I could hear.

"So you're blaming _me_ because you didn't move out of the way in time."

I rolled my eyes as my blade went right through the first bandit's chest. I couldn't pull my sword out in time to block the other one's axe, but at least I ducked. No i was more or less weaponless, "You know as well as I do it's harder than just side stepping a spell like that." I ducked in time to dodge the axe again, lunging forward to grab the dead bandit's axe. Crap, I didn't know how to use one of these... And yet I swung anyways, lopping off the bandit's left arm. Gross...

"You don't always have to play hero, you know."

I dropped the axe while the bandit was stunned, yanking my sword out of the dead one before swinging around and killing the second bandit. Another one ran out of the fog... "You have got to be kidding me..."

Ike looked over briefly, "Get behind me again! It'll be easier to defend yourself!"

Not that I had much choice. The bandit decided that an occupied Ike was a prime target. Heh, think again. I stopped the bandits axe with my sword, only to have the blade snap in half in my hands. The axe continued down, cutting into my thigh. "Oh shit... Ike! I need an extra sword!"

"I'm a little busy right now." He wasn't kidding. Another two bandits had spawned from the mist.

That wasn't the answer I needed. "No, Ike, I _really_ need a sword right now." I watched in horror as the bandit raised his axe.

"Shit." I heard Ike swear before he turned, wrapped one arm around me, and forced me to the ground again. A hand axe flew right past where I had been moments ago, then hit the bandit who's axe was about to come down on top of me. The bandit with the hand axe was hit in the head with the other bandit's axe. They both crumpled to the ground. Everything went silent again, even the shouts in the distance.

Well, silent aside from the heavy panting of both Ike and I.

I stayed on the ground, resting my head against my arm that wasn't squished under Ike's arm. Not that I cared at this point.

"Six..." Ike said between breaths, "We took down... six. All on our own."

What I wanted to know was _why_ there were six. Didn't only two spawn at the back? Oh, and the two from the north-east... And the two from the west...

"I really don't care how many there were." I said, wincing as the pain from the gash on my leg finally registered, "At least they're gone." I pushed myself up, pulling my hand out from under Ike, and looked at my leg, "Oh. That's not good."

The pant material around my thigh was more or less drenched in blood. I reached into my pocket for a vulnerary, sighing when I realized I didn't have one. "Crap. Ike, do you have an extra vulnerary?" When I looked over, my eyes widened. He was a little banged up himself, with little scratches all down his sword arm, and his own wound on his stomach that he was holding.

"First you want my sword, now my vulneraries?" He asked, chuckling lightly.

I swallowed, "Uh... You use it first. I'll be fine until someone comes back." The fog was starting to clear, thankfully, but we still weren't all that easy to see on the _ground_, so I somehow pushed myself up onto one leg.

"Ike!" Mist's voice was faint from the distance, "Where are you?" I could still hear the worry.

"Mist!" I yelled back, cupping my hands to make myself louder, "Over here, Mist!"

"Thanks." Ike said, getting his vulnerary out.

I looked back and smiled weakly, "No problem." I watched for Mist, but she wasn't coming. Were there other injured people? Or was the echoing _that_ disorienting that she didn't know which direction my voice was coming from? "Mist!"

No answer.

Sighing, I sat back down beside Ike, "This may take a while."

He held out the vulnerary, "There's not much left, but you can use it."

I took the bag and applied the last bit of healing medicine on my leg, ripping the bag when I was done to be used as a bandage. After that was done, I got up and went to find the longbow I had dropped earlier. And then there was nothing left to do but wait.

"You did it again, eh?"

Ike looked over, a little caught off guard. "Did what?"

I grinned, "Glomped me."

He raised an eyebrow, "Glomp? What the hell is _glomp_?"

Oh, right. That was slang. They didn't speak slang. At least not the kind from my world. "Never mind. You _tackled_ me."

"Not really. The bandit was aiming for you with his hand axe, and you weren't looking. Why does it matter? It turned out well, didn't it? They ended up just killing each other."

I shrugged, "I guess."

Silence.

"What _does_ glomp mean?"

Oh dear... I thought as I rolled my eyes. "There isn't much of a definition. It's kind of like... an excite hug? Or it could be jumping on someone..." I smirked when he still looked a little confused, "What, do you need an example?"

Ike narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "I don't know if I want one..."

Too bad! Of course, only having one good leg to go by, it wasn't as effective as I wanted to it be. Still, I managed to knock him over.

"_That_'s a glomp." I laughed as Ike blinked up at me.

"You are so strange." He said, but he couldn't really resist smiling.

"Ah!" It was Mist's voice, and her footsteps too, "There you two-" She stopped, and we looked over. "Uh..." The girl blinked, "Am I interrupting something?"

I looked back down at Ike, gasping when I realized what it probably looked like to someone else. It was then that I scrambled to my feet. Surprise, surprise, I forgot about my leg and feel back down.

"Oof..." Ike groaned as I collapsed back onto his chest, "Warn me next time, will you?"

I was a little slower to push myself off, rolling to the side first before getting up on one leg, "Sorry." I looked over at Mist, my cheeks turning a light shade of pink, "No, you weren't interrupting anything. There wasn't really anything to... erm... interrupt."

Mist's smile returned, "Okay! So, who's hurt?"

Ike got up as well, putting a hand on my shoulder, "Meia's hurt. We used a vulnerary, but it wasn't strong enough."

I nodded as Mist untied the makeshift bandage (any vulnerary that was still on the cloth went to the wound. Smart, aren't I?) and healed it up. I thanked her as I balanced my weight between my two legs.

The three of us rejoined the rest of the group and helped with loading the cargo (I could have sworn something was moving in a few of those boxes) onto the wagons they had fallen off of. After everything was cleaned up and secure, we headed back to the capital. Which was nice, except for that as soon as we got back the Apostle had another job for us. This one out in the desert. I was ready to beg Ike to let me stay at Mainal.

Why? For the record, they did _not_ have deodorant. No one had invented that yet. It was gross enough as is when we were going through the forests of Gallia (well, those also had lots of mosquitoes) but out in the desert? Next to Boyd again? NOT happening.

* * *

FE Frog: Like I said before, it wasn't supposed to end like that. But still... AND IT'S ALL YOU GUYS' (Did I say that right? :S) FAULT THAT I'M LIKING IKE (As a character, of course) MORE THAN BEFORE! Don't ask how. It just is. Now it just ends up like that as I write. And I'm too lazy to change anything. Hopefully it made sense...

But this doesn't mean there will be romance (Trust me, I was experimenting in a few notebooks, and everything came out weird and... it just got too complicated. No, I haven't just tried writing Ike...) So don't expect anything heavy other than a few flirty glances.

Anyways, if you don't actually like how this chapter turned out, say something. If there's enough people who didn't like it... I'll see what I can do. Because I'm feeling a little iffy about it... Because I'm a self-conscious authour XD

Okay, I'm done! See ya next time!


	18. Into The Desert

FE Frog: *Hides face* I'm sorry it took so long! I've been busy... And I haven't really been in the mood to write lately. Even this took forever x_x I would explain everything... But I'm trying to get away from the rambling XD

Unfortunately, and I'm warning you now, because of my lack of inspiration and will to write, this chapter isn't very exciting. Nor is it very funny. It has it's moments, but it's relatively uninteresting (if you ask me) compared to some. And I would have written more, but that would have taken another week.

And that's all for my ramblings (I think)... Other than for this: Just so you know, Beaver Tails are PASTRIES in the shape of beaver tails. It's a Canadian thing, okay? Because I mention them in here somewhere... I just don't want you guys thinking we Canadians eat the tails of beavers :S That's gross. And would probably taste disgusting and... beaver-like.

Yup, that's it. Last, but not least, Thanks to the following reviewers for sticking with me:

**Bubbles745** (... You didn't have to write three reviews to get my review count up to 100... You really didn't... But I'm glad you did, anyways XD)  
**Leafygirl213  
SuperNova23 **(... Well, I'm trying to not turn it into a full on romance thing. You'll see hints at different OCX? pairings... But nothing serious)**  
kit kat  
Dathedr  
Rini Tsukino  
Meru-64  
kenegi**

Enjoy, guys (and girls)!

* * *

The sun shone down on us, not a cloud in the sky to block it's strong rays.

How I wished there _were_ some clouds. The sun was just too damned hot. Especially for someone used to the frozen wasteland called Canada. All I wanted to do was curl up in my lovely little igloo and watch Polar bears go fishing for God knows what out of holes in the ice while I ate Beaver Tails.

... Too much?

Okay, so where I come from, it only went down to about -30 degrees Celsius on a regular basis in the winter. And summers? 30 degrees Celsius.

But even that was nothing compared to the blazing sun and scorching sand of the desert. Not to mention Ike refused to let us take off our armour. I was about ready to faint the moment we stepped into this desolate wasteland. Made me wonder why the laguz group even bothered setting up here, what with their fur and feather and whatnot. There were plenty of other nice places that most humans wouldn't bother going near, but apparently the laguz were suicidal and wanted a _desert_.

"Are we almost there yet?" I asked, looking into my water skin to see if anything was left, even a drop. I drank all my water earlier, but for some reason hoped it would magically refill itself. If they could invent powder to warp across the continent, you would think they could invent water skins that could refill themselves. Or maybe water _bottles_ so I didn't have to drink out of the stomach of a sheep.

There's something I could do. Tell them about plastic and it's many amazing uses. How do you make plastic, anyways? Damn, just when I get a good idea...

"Meia?"

I turned to see Mist looking at me funny. I must have completely zoned out. Not surprising, it happened quite often. "Yeah?"

She sighed, "Nothing. Just seeing if you were still here."

I looked around, "Well... Where else could I have been?"

Mist sighed again, this time sounding a little more irritated, "Never mind. It was a _joke_."

For someone who uses sarcasm on a regular basis, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to other people using it. Well, sometimes.

"Are we there yet?" I asked loudly so someone with an answer could hear me.

The one with the answer ignored. As per usual. Of course, that would only make it more fun to bother him.

I casually walked up beside the dark haired mage, "Are we almost there yet?" No answer. I guess I'd have to try again. "Hey, are we there yet?"

The mage's crimson eyes flicked in my direction before fixing themselves on the sand in front of us again. Still no answer.

Trying to hold back a grin, I waved a hand in front of his face, "Oi, I'm talking to you. Are we there yet?"

Three times the charm. Soren's head snapped in my direction, "Does it _look_ like we're there?"

I shrugged, "I dunno. It all looks the same to me."

Soren pinched the bridge of his nose. Already? Geez, what a party pooper. I was hoping he could last at _least_ another minute before getting that annoyed. "We're almost there."

"Almost there as in...?" I motioned with my hand for him to continue, "You have to be a little more specific, Soren. Usually you're pretty good with that."

His eyebrow twitched. "I don't know. An hour? Two hours? We get there when we get there."

I gasped and covered my mouth, mainly for effect. "Oh my GOD! Soren doesn't actually KNOW!" Surprisingly, a few people actually looked over and began whispering.

Soren narrowed his eyes to small, crimson slits, "I'm not psychic. I've never been here before. How am I supposed to know how long it is?"

He raised a valid argument. Not that I would tell him that. Might as well change the subject. "Thought of a strategy yet?"

The mage wasn't as annoyed by this question. The only thing that bothered him was the person asking. "I have ideas, but I don't know exactly what we're up against. Once I see, I'll have everything planned out."

"So what are your ideas?"

The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly, "Put you at the front."

"Ah..." And then it clicked, "Hey! That's not fair! What would Ike say if he knew you wanted to use me as a sacrificial shield?"

Soren opened his mouth to reply, but instead it was Ike himself, who had walked up to my other side and put an arm around my shoulders.

"For the record," He began, "I agreed to this plan."

I stuck my tongue out at him, "And why would you want me to die? Who will you train with then?"

Ike smirked, "I have plenty of people to train with."

"Yes, but none as amazing as me. You can't yell at Mia as much."

Soren snorted and walked away at that point. He was probably bored.

Ike considered it, "You have a point. On the yelling, I mean, not that you're amazing."

"Hah." I said sarcastically, "You're _hilarious_."

He withdrew his arm as someone called for him, turning to whoever it was, "One second!" He looked back to me, "I have to go, then."

"Okay." I said, putting on a smile before going to find someone else to talk to. Mia was busy whacking Boyd over the head for God knows what (I'll ask her later), and Mist was giggling with Rolf... I may have gone to talk to Ilyana or something, or perhaps Zihark, but the mage was hungry and begging Zihark for food. Lethe was out of the question, and Mordecai wasn't very sociable in general. The only other person worth talking to was off in the corner of the group, on his own. How sad.

"Where have you been, lately?" I asked as I approached the green haired thief.

Sothe gave me a weird look, then rolled his eyes and stared ahead, "Around."

"Around _where_?"

The thief narrowed his eyes this time, "I saw what you were doing to Soren. Don't think it will work on me."

I laughed, "Hah! You see, Sothe, I don't particularly like Soren. Never have, probably never will." I nudged him with my elbow, "You're okay, though. When you're not acting all emo or pissed off, that is. I'm actually curious where you've been, mainly because you promised to come when I call. But you didn't. I think I have a right to know, seeing as I pay you to steal for me."

Sothe grunted, but he accepted the fact that he was caught. "I've been looking for someone, okay?"

I nodded, even if the information wasn't all that new. I remembered Sothe saying something about it in the game, but I don't really remember much from his conversations with characters. It's been so long since I last played that game. "Who are you looking for?" I don't ever remember him saying _who_ in the game.

"Just a friend... Well, family. We're not related by blood or anything, but they're definitely family."

That answer was familiar. He must have said something either exactly like it, or close in the game. "A brother? Cousin?"

Sothe looked away, "I don't want to talk about it, okay? I couldn't find that person, so I'm back to square one."

Huh. But wasn't it to find that person he came with us? "Then why are you still here?"

He glanced over, "Because I want to. It's not really any of your business."

I put up my hands, "Hey, I'm good with that. I was just curious, is all." I didn't follow him, either, when he decided to pick up his feet and walk ahead. Alone.

Why was Sothe acting like that all of a sudden? He seemed fine on the boat (as fine as Sothe can be, for an antisocial depressed kid who doesn't seem to like people much.) Maybe it was because he was frustrated that he couldn't find the person he was looking for.

Yeah, that must be it.

With yet another sigh, I looked back. Behind the group, Mia had jumped on Boyd's back and was now trying to yank out his hair. Boyd seemed to be in distress.

Oh dear.

I ran over to them, just in time to hear Mia screaming about sexism and Boyd just being plain stupid, while the fighter was choking out words like 'I didn't mean it' or 'Why do girls always over react?' The latter of the two only enraged Mia more.

Time for an intervention. I hurried over, grabbing Mia by the waist and trying to pull her off Boyd's back, which wasn't too successful. If anything, she pulled on his hair _more_ to keep a good grip. Where's Ike when you need him?

"Mia!" I yelled, digging my feet into the sand so they were a little more sturdy as I pulled, "Get off of Boyd!"

"No!" She screamed, wrapping one arm around his neck while she started pulling his ear (why his ear, I don't know) with the other hand, "He called me WEAK! Because I'm a GIRL!"

Boyd, thankfully, was helping me by trying to get Mia's hands off of himself, "I just said most girls are weak_er_ than guys!"

"WHY DON'T YOU SAY THAT TO TITANIA, HUH?"

I managed to get her legs off him, and all that was left were her hands, "Mia! Now is not the time! You can kill him when we get back!" I shouted over their screaming, pulling as hard as I could to get Mia away. We were really falling behind the group, but a few members had stopped to watch. Like Lethe. Because Lethe is an ass.

"Okay," Suddenly, Mia let go, sending us both flying back. I screamed, while I _think_ Mia just grinned evilly. Boyd, on the other hand, ran away like a girl. I don't think he wanted to risk Mia latching onto him again and tearing at his face.

"Ow!" I yelled as I landed in the sand, on my back, with Mia sitting on top of me.

Mia jumped up, "Oh! Sorry, Meia!"

I didn't bother getting up right away, catching my breath first, "You're... Insane..."

"Funny... I've been told that before, actually..."

I gave her my best 'You've-got-to-be-kidding-me' face and pushed myself out of the sand, shaking my head to get rid of any of the crap that got in my hair. I hate getting sand in my hair. It's gross. Unfortunately, it probably wasn't the last time I would be covered in the stuff today.

Just my luck that, as soon as I stood up, we were being met by laguz. Joy.

"Form up!" Ike shouted after talking to the little red thing and a laguz. Right away, everyone scrambled into position. I was ordered to stay behind the front line, just like last time, so I could pick people off with my bow.

It bugged me, actually. I trained more with my sword than my bow. I could almost wield silver swords, for god's sake! (... Not that we had any available to us yet...) I had only recently gotten the hang of steel bows. Both Ike and Mia said I was improving, so I wanted to be in the front line with all the stronger fighters, not behind them as back up.

It was probably Soren's fault I was behind them, because he didn't like me whatsoever, but he kept me somewhat close so Ike didn't get suspicious. Yes, it was all the annoying mage's fault.

That also meant I could probably get away with joining the front lines. Soren might not be happy about it, but at least I would be of more use. Right? We had enough back up anyways, what with Soren, Rolf and Ilyana all ready to go. When you have two people with fire, and another that's better with a bow than me (Yes, I admit he's better than me. I don't focus on my archery as much, anyways, so it's not like my ego had been _totally _destroyed because of it,) why would they need me too? I'd be _much_ more helpful in the front line. Plus, Ike didn't want me defending the little one's or anything, (he left Zihark for the that,) so I was free to join them.

As soon as Soren was finished laying out a basic plan and we started moving, I hurried forward, the only thing hindering me being the sand. I made sure to keep behind them for now, far enough to shoot off any approaching laguz, but close enough to run forward with my sword when the time was right. It was perfect.

And then they really started coming. I managed to finish two from behind, but my sword on my waist kept feeling heavier. Almost like it _wanted_ to be used. Unfortunately, now wasn't quite the time. It would be rude of me to steal one of the others' kills like that.

I watched for my chance to join, and then jumped at the opportunity when I saw a tiger racing towards us, toward Mia specifically. She was busy battling two cats, one of which was near death anyways, but the other was still very alive. Everyone else was busy as well. This was my chance.

Without hesitation, I went through the gap between Ike and Mia, my bow already over my shoulder and sword out. The tiger was expecting this, though. Thankfully tigers were slower than cats, because I managed to duck under him as he leaped at me. A good thing they were slow, because they were a hell of a lot stronger. I would be screwed if he managed to get more than one hit on me. But I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't confident in my skills, right?

The tiger turned to me, growling as I pointed my sword at him and grinned. Yup, I could win this. The tiger surged forward again, but I sidestepped him, swinging my sword as I did so. My blade tore some of the skin on his hind leg and he howled as he stopped, not as gracefully this time. Now he would be even slower. I knew I would be fine.

I gripped the hilt of my sword with both hands, bending my knees just enough to allow optimal movement. The tiger was mad, and even if his leg was hurt, he would attack me with whatever he had. And attack he did, but once again, I ducked just low enough that he flew right over me. Once he was on the ground, I turned and ran forward. It was _my_ turn to attack. The tiger was much too slow thanks to his injury, and I finished him off.

Then came another laguz, this time a hawk. I was kind of annoyed, because it really _would_ be better to use a bow against the bird, but I wanted to prove my worth with a _sword_. Most people knew I was okay enough with a bow by now. I was shoved to the back enough...

So I kept my sword drawn and bent my legs, readying myself for the new attacker. The hawk dove at me, but I rolled to the side. Unfortunately, his talon caught my back before I could get out of the way entirely. Rolling into the sand didn't quite help, but I kept going anyways. It happened too often for me to be bothered, now.

I spun around, facing the hawk again, and went for the bird. He was much quicker than the tiger and just flapped his wings to get a few extra meters of air to avoid my sword. Okay, maybe the bow would have been easier... But on the other hand, this was a challenge. Why not try? I was always up for a challenge.

The hawk flew down, talons out, at me once more, but I managed to get out of the way completely. This wouldn't be so hard...

I was about to go after the hawk again when someone called my name, and then there was fire behind me. I dropped to the ground and covered my head with my hands, to protect myself from the flames that were a little too close for comfort.

When the heat was gone, I slowly lifted my head and looked back. The charred remains of a cat were lying behind me. I had to swallow to keep from throwing up. Funny how I can run people through with my sword, but a giant _burned_ cat was gross. Quickly, I looked away from the cat, instead staring at a pair of sandals sticking out the bottom of a long black cloak. These particular feet, for some reason, weren't buried in sand like the rest of us. Huh.

"You're an idiot." Came the snide voice of one particular mage. (Not the same voice that had called me, for the record. That must have been someone else, like Rolf, Ike or Mia.)

I looked up to see Soren's red eyes scrutinizing me, as always. "Oh. That was you."

"I don't see anyone else around," he huffed, narrowing his eyes, "That can defeat one of those things with one strike."

I blinked. Honestly, I could see plenty. Ike was probably quite capable of landing a critical hit on that thing. Or Mia. Hell, even Boyd was getting better with weapons, and with his laguz axe he would be unstoppable. "You mean with magic." I said, lifting myself up out of the sand. Ilyana... Well, I couldn't see her killing the cat in one shot. Not yet, at least.

Soren didn't say anything. That must mean he realized it too. Sure, he may not acknowledge the fact that I caught his slip up, but he knew.

I looked over to where the hawk was, only to see it on the ground, gashes covering his body and wings... As if a wind spell had cut him down. Then, I turned back to Soren and got up. "You do realize you just saved me, right?"

The mage had actually started turning to leave and help Ike out with the green tiger-boss, but when I spoke, he turned his head ever so slightly in my direction. "Yes. Of course. I'm not an idiot. Not like you."

I'd just have to ignore the insult for a moment. I could always shoot him in the back of the head point-blank when I'd finished talking. For now, I'd just poke him with words instead of arrows. "Are you feeling alright?" I asked, smirking. I could never help smirking around him. It seemed to bug the anti-social freak enough. "_My _life. You saved _**my**_ life."

"Yes, I am aware of that." He said, sounding more pissed off, "Your point is?"

I blinked again. Why was he so calm... Well, aside from the annoyed part that I was trying to piss him off again. "I thought... I thought you hated me."

Soren turned around, pinching the bridge of his nose _again_, (I'm on a role today, aren't I?) "Oh, for the love of the Goddess... I don't _hate_ you."

Woah, hold it there! Did Soren- _SOREN_- just say he _didn't_ hate me? I was speechless. My jaw even dropped and my eyes widened.

He noticed this. "Just because I don't hate you doesn't mean I don't like you. I despise you very much, actually. I just don't quite _hate_ you." He waited for me to say something, then seemed somewhat pleased when I stayed quiet. "Now, don't mess up my plans ever again. I put you in the back for a reason. You obviously can't handle being in the front lines."

Now _I _was getting a bit annoyed. Was he trying to do that? "That's because you never _put_ me in the front lines!"

"And for good reason." He said, switching to a monotone, and even going as far as looking at his tome, then brushing off non-existent dirt that may have gotten on his precious book. "You're too cocky for your own good. Whether you can fight or not makes no difference. I do, in fact, realize you have improved. I do acknowledge that you are a better fighter. _You_ need to acknowledge your place in this group."

I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes, "I do know my place. I'm part of the Greil Mercenaries."

"And you are paid to do what I say. I am the tactician, not you." He stopped staring at and cleaning off his book and hugged it to him, lifting his head to look at me once more, "To be frank, your strategies are horrid. Look what you have done in the last few battles."

I couldn't say anything in response, and when I just stared, making sure not to look guilty, Soren turned and joined the others who had finally finished the tiger, Muarim, off. But I stayed behind and watched from afar. As much as I hated to admit it... Soren was right. I was being irresponsible and selfish. Other than the saving-Gatrie-from-the-mage thing. That was me being nice and risking my life for that of another... Right?

"Hey!" Mia ran up to me and grabbed my arm, "What are you doing over here? We're all going inside now! Turns out the laguz aren't so bad."

I smiled meekly at her, "Okay." I guess I had no choice to go. Putting on a brave face would probably be a good idea, too. I can admit Soren was right to myself, but I wasn't about to let him have the satisfaction of knowing he taught me a lesson. I definitely didn't want that.

* * *

FE Frog: Like I said. Kind of boring... Anyways... Onto business.

Soon, I won't be able to write as much, and this is why:

In November, I am going to try NaNoWriMo. For those of you who don't know what it is, NaNoWriMo stands for, (I think,) National Novel Writing Month or something. Yes. Novel Writing. And you have to write a _50,000_ word novel in ONE month. **ONE**. So I will have absolutely NO time for fanfiction. For those who read JSTG 2, I'm working on the next chapter, as well. So far, I like it. The beginning is really cute ^^ (Then again, the beginning of the story in general is going to be generally really cute and fluffy ^^ Because I need a balanced diet of angst, fluff and funny.) I'll try and finish that soon. I will also try posting a chapter for this and JSTG 2 before November starts. After that, my mom has been bugging me to get a job. So I have to go job hunting =_= Plus, I need money. I'm broke. And if I want to go on the exchange next year to Germany like I've been planning (sort of... I still have to do the ACTUAL planning part) then I will need some pocket change.

Anyways, onto a happier note. Because I now have 100 (and soon over that) I thought maybe I would share some info on how the story does aside from reviews. *Cough* show off *cough* What? I'm allowed to be proud of myself, right?

Path of Cheezyness:  
**Words** - 67,128  
**Chaps** - 17  
**Reviews**- _100  
_**Hits** - 4,107_  
_**Favs** - 19  
**Alerts** - 11

I'm a proud author *wipes away a tear* Thank you, guys!

JSTG and JSTG 2 do a lot better... (well, JSTG 2 does if you look at how many chapters it had compared to PoC XD)

On ANOTHER happy note, I've now played Blazing Sword, part of Sword of Seals and am still in the midst of Sacred Stones. I'll still have to play each of those at LEAST 3 times before writing fics for it, but... We'll see.

As always, you know the drill. Review! It gives me inspiration. When there are no reviews, I don't want to post. I can keep all the ideas in my head... But I know you guys will review! I'm just trying to coax more readers into reviewing! (Hello-o, 4,107 hits but only 100 reviews? ... Okay, I can't complain too much.)


	19. Bath Time!

FE Frog: Eek. I feel bad for not having posted in so long... Sorry! NaNo killed my muse. Like, ran over it with a tank about 5 times, then took a bazooka to it. My muse was _that_ dead.

But I actually finished this part a while ago. Like, a few months ago. Possibly even in October. (Happy New Years, by the way!) So... Yeah... I just wanted to get Part b finished so you guys had an extra special, extra long chapter! Except part b happened after my muse died on me. So it might be a while. Hopefully a few days, but you know what that means in FE Frog time... Plus, I want to work on JSTG 2. Because that hasn't been updated since end of September/beginning of October.

Anyways, I'll let you read.

But before I do... Thanks to the following reviewers! (I still do this?)

**kit kat  
****Rini Tsukino  
****Dathedr  
****kenegi  
****Meru-64  
****SuperNova23**

Yes, now you may enjoy.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" I asked, sticking out my lower lip, "My legs hurt sooooo much." And not just my legs. My face hurt too. Stupid sunburn... Why didn't the Apostle have the decency to send us HORSES on our trek to the desert? Sure, it took just a little more than half a day to get there, but that was because we were in a rush and full of energy. As much energy as one can have when forced to get moving at two in the morning, which isn't very much energy at all. Not fun. Not fun at all. The only sleep I had gotten since then was three hours when we took a break at the foot of the mountains that bordered the Grann desert. That was as the sun was getting lower and lower in the sky. Now all that was left was a pale orange colour on the western horizon, past the trees.

Mia stretched out her arms and yawned, "I have absolutely no idea. I think we had been travelling for, like, four hours before we got here. At this pace, I would give it six."

Oh _God_. Six more hours of this. It would be midnight before we got to Sienne, and maybe even longer until I was in bed. Not to mention taking a bath... Because there was no way I was going to bed _this_ filthy.

Three hours later, I was seriously considering jumping on Oscar's horse and _forcing_ the green knight to let me ride with him. Why hadn't I done that before? I actually have no idea...

"Oscar?" I asked once I had caught up with the horse, "Can I ride with you?"

He smiled, "Of course."

In my mind, I did a fist pump. _Yes!_

-oOo-

"Meia?"

I blinked my eyes and lifted my head off the rather uncomfortable metal I had been lying on. My neck hurt, too. Damn.

"Oh, good, you're awake."

Smacking my lips, I stretched out my arms, then looked around, "Are we back?" My voice was hoarse, like it always was when I woke up.

Oscar nodded, "Yes. Do you need help off the horse?"

I looked down. Oh right, I had asked for a ride, because I was too lazy to continue walking for another three hours. Pretty clever if you ask me. Other than the fact that instead of my legs, my butt now ached. Battle saddles weren't exactly designed for comfort, I guess.

And then I covered my mouth as a yawn took over me. My God did it ever hurt. They may not have sunscreen, but I sure as hell hoped they had Aloe lotion. "Thanks, Oscar." I said, all of a sudden craving the cool feel of metal against my face again. No wonder I had fallen asleep so easily.

He smiled feebly, "No problem." Yeah, he was definitely tired too. Even so, he offered me his hand to help me down from the horse's back. Ever the chivalrous one.

Once my feet were firmly on the ground and I had my things that I had put in the saddle bags, I turned to Oscar, "Do you know what time it is?"

"Late." Was his soft reply as he walked his horse away to the Cathedral stables, wherever those might be. When I decided that was all I would get out of him, I headed inside with the last few people from our group, one of which was Mia.

"I hate you." She huffed, eyelids drooping.

I couldn't help but smile. Everyone was exhausted, but thanks to my nap, I was feeling more awake. Sure they weren't consecutive, but I had nine hours of sleep. Most people had less than three. "No you don't." I said, my grin widening.

Mia sighed, "You're right. I'm too tired to hate you right now. I'll hate you in the morning."

I lunged forward as she began to waver, "Hey, hey! Wait until you're up in bed to fall asleep!"

"But I don't wanna!" She whined, sliding to the ground and curling up in a ball, "So... Tired..."

There was no chance of me carrying her upstairs, and I doubt anyone would want to do it for me... I know it may make me a bad friend, but I left her there. Not without trying to wake her up and getting bitten for it, of course. Her own fault for biting me.

So I continued upstairs, going into my room and grabbing a fresh towel that the servants had left for me. No doubt most people were too tired to take a bath now, which made it the perfect time for me. I still don't get why such an uptight country would have co-ed baths... Made no sense whatsoever.

Oh well, at least I would be alone. Most likely I would be alone. God, I _really_ hoped I would be alone.

When I got to the bathroom (although I wouldn't call it a room. Much too big for that) I made sure to check every corner of it and I even attempted to lock the door. Unfortunately, the doors weren't lockable. Not like anybody would come in...

Behind a screen in the corner (just in case) I stripped off my filthy clothes full of sand and wrapped the towel around me before going to the steps into the bath. As hot as wearing long-sleeves in the desert was, I was grateful Ike made us wear them. My arms were still pale, like they usually were, instead of bright red like my face. My legs on the other hand... Well, I _had_ been wearing pants, but they had gotten a little torn up. Because of that, I had splotches of red all over them. Rather ugly, but on the bright side, it wasn't my entire leg that was burnt. So it only hurt a bit as I waded into the lukewarm water. If anything, the water was soothing, I just had to get over the initial pain.

Once I was deep enough (meaning the water stopped just above my waist) I dunked my head under the water. It stung first, and I couldn't help yelping. I got a mouthful of water for that.

I came up again, rubbing my face gently to get as much sweat and grime as possible off, without hurting the tender skin. Then I went over to the side where servants had set up some soap and a stack of facecloths. Perfect.

It felt _so_ good to be clean, especially after a day on the road and in the desert. Without any shampoo (apparently they didn't care much for it...) I simply lathered up my hands with hand soap and then ran my fingers through my hair, cleaning out all the sand that had gotten stuck by the roots. Did I mention I hate sand? Probably. But that just goes to show how much I actually hate it.

Finally, I set the face cloth down and went to the center of the bath/pool and sank down below the surface again. It was pretty much silent above water, with only a few audible voices of servants that were still awake and people outside the cathedral that happened to be out at this hour. Under water, though, was completely silent. All I could here was my heartbeat. It was so... Blissful. It kind of surprised me that bliss still existed in a continent on the brink of full out war. But I guess that's what you need sometimes... Peace and quiet.

It made me sad when my heart started beating faster and my brain told me to go up for air. If only I could have stayed under for longer. I was never able to hold my breath for very long. Ever.

I lifted myself up out of the water, sucking in the now cool, if a bit humid, air of the bath room. The open windows allowed the chilled night air draft into the room, replacing the humidity. It was nice, actually.

Taking a few deep breaths first, I went back down into the water, pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them and trying to keep myself near the bottom of the bath.

Again, my lungs screamed for oxygen, so I went back up, gasping this time.

"Holy crap!"

Without even rubbing the water away first, I opened my eyes to see one particular blue haired guy standing at the steps to the pool. One particular _naked_ blue haired guy standing at the steps to the pool.

Ike's face went beet red almost instantaneously. I'm pretty sure mine did to. And then he grabbed the towel he had just put on the ground and wrapped it around his waist, looking away as he did so.

That's when I realized I had been flashing him from the waist up. I dropped into the water, sinking down enough so only my head was above the water's surface as I wrapped my arms around myself.

"I'm _really_ sorry." Ike said quickly, almost too fast for me to understand. He still didn't look. "You were under water, and I didn't see you, so I thought I was the only one, and-"

"Ike." I interrupted him. As embarrassed as I was, he was rambling. When you have a sister like mine, rambling tends to get _really_ annoying.

His cheeks deepened in colour, if that was even possible. But at least he slowed down. "Sorry."

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my rampaging heartbeat. _Much_ easier said than done. "Erm... I'm done... So I can leave now..."

Ike stayed turned away, "I'll close my eyes, if you want."

Seeing as my towel was... Oh crap, it was right beside him, at his feet. Talk about awkward. "That would be greatly appreciated." I said, making my way over to the steps while keeping my body under water, "And maybe, uh... Can you step to the side a bit?"

He stepped over the towel.

"Other side." I said, biting my lip. Honestly, this was just getting worse and worse. On the bright side, he only saw my top half, not the bottom half. Okay, not so bright, but still... I officially hate Sienne and their stupid co-ed baths.

Ike then shuffled to the other side, back towards me as I stepped out of the bath. Even if he wasn't looking, the heat rose in my cheeks again. I felt so... Bare. Maybe because, technically, I was. Quickly, I grabbed the towel off the floor and wrapped it around myself, making sure it covered enough of my chest without the bottom hiking up too much.

"Done." I said when I was, well, _done_. "You can turn around... If you want..." I have no idea why I found it strange that Ike did turn. I still felt vulnerable, even if I was relatively well covered up. But what's done is done. That's what I kept telling myself. It kind of helped, too. But nothing could get that mentally scarring image out of my head.

"Listen, I'm really sorry. You were under water, so I didn't notice you there-"

I lifted a finger to my lips, telling him to shut up. When he did, I turned and started back for the screen at the other end of the room. Once behind, I could hear Ike go into the water and wade over to the soap station. Good, I wasn't the only one who cared about personal hygiene.

And that's when I felt the heat go to my cheeks. I don't know why I managed to be so calm before, but now I felt my heart racing. Ike had seen me half naked. More or less naked. Oh God... Of all people, why _him_? Well, I guess it could have been worse... Like Soren walking in. Actually, I don't think it would matter as much if it were Soren. Soren wouldn't care. At all. I think he's, like, asexual or something. And if anything, I could just laugh at him. So what if... Sothe! What if Sothe walked in? Well, that would be awkward.

Not as awkward as with Ike.

Maybe it couldn't get worse. I guess, in a way, that's sort of a relief. What's done is done. It can't get any worse.

I focused on getting dressed again, and tried to get my mind on something else. Even though my clothes were dirty, I pulled them on quickly, then tried my best to dry my hair with the towel. Never worked. Especially not when it's this long, which reminded me I hadn't cut my hair in several months. My bangs were growing out, too, which was helpful in battle but didn't look as nice. Why did I care about how I looked all of a sudden? What did that matter? There were people like Kieran who couldn't give a rat's ass about how they looked. Well, style wise. He seemed intent on keeping up his physique, I think. Not that I paid attention to what he did.

This is working. I'm not thinking about Ike having seen me half naked.

Why did I have to bring it up again?

"Oh, Ike, you're still up?"

The voice brought me out of my thoughts. It sounded like... Boyd? I guess Mia was too tired to get her revenge after all. Not surprising.

"Uh, Yeah..." Was Ike's nervous answer. Nervous? Why? Did he not want to be seen naked by Boyd? Well, it would make sense... Not that I got a good look, but Boyd may or may not make fun of him.

I finished with my hair and tied it back into a damp bun, then grabbed my towel and stepped out from behind the screen.

"Wait, Boyd, no!"

It was too late. The towel dropped from my hand as Boyd dropped the last piece of clothing he had had on.

"Oh GOD!" I yelled, covering my eyes and turning away, "Not AGAIN!" Yep, it could get worse.

Next came a splash as Boyd jumped in the water. When he resurfaced, his shout was more directed at Ike, "Why didn't you tell me she was here?"

"I was getting to that."

I just wanted to claw out my eyes now before someone else walked in naked. Male or female, I honestly didn't want to see anymore. Then again, who would? "Why me...?" I pouted, picking up my towel and covering my face with it. In the end, I decided it must be karma. All karma from being an idiot.

"How much did you see?" Boyd demanded.

I shook my head, the towel still covering my face, "_Waaaaaay_ too much." I then tried to hurry for the door before any other misfortune befell me.

Unfortunately, karma wasn't quite done with me yet. And I was too concerned on getting the hell out that I didn't here _someone_ yell something along the lines of 'Watch out!' Of course, they were a little late too.

There's a reason they tell you not to run by the pool. Having a towel block your vision just makes things worse.

I screamed and plunged into the water.

When I resurfaced, Boyd was laughing. I flipped him the bird. It wasn't something I usually did, or _ever_ did for that matter, but the situation seemed appropriate. Hopefully they knew what that meant here.

"Are you alright?" It was Ike asking about my well-being, but he was a little closer than was comfortable. At this point, even 100 meters was too close for comfort, but he was about 5 meters away from me, which translates to roughly 16 and a half feet. Like I said, at a moment like this, even that was too close.

"I'm fine." I sputtered as a reply, wiping water from my eyes. On the bright side, my clothes were now a lot more clean.

Boyd was still laughing. Ike was... I don't know what Ike was doing. I wasn't looking. And then the door opened again.

"Please tell me he has clothes!" I yelled before I risked looking up.

"What on earth?" the voice sounded snobby and Begnion-like.

Boyd's laughing stopped. Was that good or bad?

"What the devil is going on here?"

I looked up to see a man in a nightgown. He looked slightly familiar... "Uh... Nothing..."

The man glared at me, "Do you mind doing all of this in a more private place? Many people use this bath, and everyone can hear you screaming."

I was about to look at Ike and Boyd, but caught myself and kept my eyes on what I was starting to the think might be one of the senators. "But the bath is here... How do we take a bath somewhere private?"

"Meia," Ike said, his voice low, "I don't think that's what he meant."

My lips went to forming an 'o' shape as realization set in. "Sir, I assure you we weren't doing what you are thinking of... I just fell." God, did the guy think _really_ think...? I'm still 14, for the record. 14 and a half... Before any other words could be exchanged, I hurried out of the water (as fast as one can hurry through water. Which isn't very fast at all) and ran out the door. This was just too much.

When I finally got back to the comfort of my room, I went to the hidden spot in the corner and took off my wet clothes in favour of a nightgown.

Mia stirred and turned to me, "Finally finished your bath?"

"Yeah..." I replied as I crawled into bed, "You'll never guess what happened." I ended up telling her everything, even if she was about to fall asleep through most of my story.

At the end, Mia yawned, "You should have gone to the women's bath. You would have saved yourself a lot of trouble."

"Mia," I said blankly, "There's just the one bath."

"No." she turned back towards the wall, "You were in the family bath. If you had just asked a servant..." And then she dozed off, lost for the rest the night.

There was a women's bath?

Yup. Karma hates my guts.

* * *

FE Frog: I kept debating with myself on whether to post this or not. At one point, I kind of wanted to change the whole bath scene. But I didn't know what to change it to.

And I'm lazy.

So it stayed.

Anyways, if anyone was wondering, my final word-count for NaNoWriMo ended up being 39,233. Not bad, if I do say so myself. Funny enough, the idea I used was originally an FE fic starring Muarim, Tormod and Sothe. But I changed it. And I liked it. (The fic would have been AU anyways...) And it worked better as an original story. Unfortunately, it wouldn't have been humourous either way.

Maybe someday I will post the actual fic. Or not.

Unfortunately, my biggest problem with the NaNo story was that... Well... I was missing something EXTREMELY important. A plot. I mean, I had a plot idea, I just didn't know what to do with it. It's kind of unfair to the characters, I know (I feel really bad) but I couldn't think of anything.

What? I'm the kind of person who tends to treat characters like real people. To me, they are... You know, I'm just going to stop talking now. I'm starting to sound like a schizophrenic. Which I'm not. Entirely. Sometimes...

Yeah, I'm going to shut up now.


	20. The Bonfire

FE Frog: Creative chapter title, eh? That's what happens when I'm stumped...

Argh. FanFiction is annoying me right now. I couldn't upload the file... But I figured something else out.

The sad thing is... Well, this has been sitting around, finished, for over a week. I kind of forgot about it. I don't know why. But then I remembered! So I posted! Another bad thing? There's, erm, no fighting. Not yet. I promise the next chapter! I guess you can call it a 'filler' chapter. But it's amusing! SO maybe you guys can get a good laugh out of it...

Thanks to the following reviewers~

**Leafygirl213  
Rini Tsukino  
kit** **kat**  
**Tom-Ato13**  
**kenegi**  
**M****eru-64**

ENJOY!

* * *

We were on the road again two days after our desert expedition. Sure, it was nice to get a break, but it was kind of annoying. I was hoping for a shopping day after getting paid. Since the Apostle had been hiring us, she gave us a lot more money than we usually got, so all of us got a LOT of extra cash.

I needed new, nicer clothes anyways. My work clothes were mostly torn up by laguz and stupid Daeins, and... Well... I didn't really have nicer clothes. Not that I would ever need them, but you never know.

Oh, did I mention we were heading to _Tanas? _Which was a farther march than from the port to Sienne. And there was no Kadohl for Mia and I to meet up with Mr. Stuffy, the Commander of the Begnion Imperial Army if we got left behind.

"So you saw both Ike _and_ Boyd naked?" Mia asked.

I had also just explained what happened, since I hadn't exactly gotten the chance to tell her when she was conscious. "Yes, unfortunately."

"Why 'unfortunately'? It can't be _that_ bad. Ike's not bad looking, if you can get past his permanent scowl. And while Boyd's annoying, he has a really nice body." She was looking at nothing in particular, smiling.

I was baffled. "That's gross, Mia. It was mentally scarring."

Then Mia glanced at me, shaking her head, "You're too young to understand, I guess."

"You're only a year older than me."

"So give it a year." And then she began daydreaming again.

I rolled my eyes, "You're insane."

She ignored me. Because I wasn't in the mood for finding someone else to talk to, I decided to just think. Things like how it was possible for me to be in, quite literally, a fictional story. I was also thinking about how much karma hates me. And then my mind went to what Mia had said. Okay, I admit Boyd has an okay body (but I'm not the uber muscle-y type) and Ike wasn't all that bad looking when he was happier and at least his eyes were smiling. And if I pictured Ike with the towel around his waist, he was pretty hot... Not too muscled (even though that was slowly changing.) As long as I kept the image of him completely naked out of my head...

"Meia?"

I looked over at Mia, "Yeah?"

She smirked, "You were day dreaming."

"So were you," I said, rolling my eyes, "Am I not allowed to daydream as well?"

She simply shook her head while laughing, "Never mind. Dream all you'd like."

I refused to let the thought back into my mind. It just wasn't right. So instead, I looked around. Mist and Rolf were together, as always, talking about God knows what. Ike was up ahead with Titania and Soren, no doubt planning a way to get into Tanas' villa to search for the laguz slaves he supposedly had. Above us, a wyvern and a pegasus flew. I imagine that would be Jill and Marcia. They were probably in charge of scouting for possible ambushes. Not that any Government officials would ambush us. That would be stupid, because we were on a job for the Empress. Bandits weren't quite as clever, though...

God I hope there are no more bandits. There weren't in the game. I don't think... Oh no. My eyes went wide as I racked my brain for what happened in the game. It had been so long! The next battle was against Tanas. And then... And then we go in the forest? Yeah, but wasn't there something before that? Do we go back to Sienne or not? All I remember is Naesala and Reyson having a conversation. Wait, that comes before... What is wrong with me?

"Meia?" It was Mia again, but she sounded a little more concerned this time around, "Are you okay? You look a little pale?"

That would be saying something. My face was _supposed_ to be red because of sunburn. I looked over at her, pulling myself back together, "I'm fine. It was nothing." And after the four part chapter in the forest... Something with snow. But there's a lot with snow. We'll be going to Daein, I know that, but I forget which battle...

"You really don't look fine. You looked better on a pegasus."

"Really?" Huh. I wasn't just pale on the pegasus. My face had gone green. And probably various other colours. "I think maybe the sun's getting to me." Oh yeah, blame it on the heat. Actually, there was a slight throbbing in my head. But that happens. Probably need some more water. I reached down to my belt, and then groaned when I realized I forgot my water-skin in my room.

Mia held hers out, "Here. We still have a ways to go. I'll go get another from the wagon, so you can keep that." And with that, she left. Left me all alone.

At least I had water.

After a few gulps of water, I looked around again. My mind wandered last time, so I tried my best to keep it on track with... Whatever it was I was doing.

Let's see... Ilyana was following Zihark. It looked like she expected food from him. When she almost fainted, Mordecai picked her up and carried her. How nice of him. I don't think Zihark even noticed. He seemed to be off in his own world.

Off to the side, Sothe was being badgered by Tormod. He didn't look too happy. Kind of like Soren when I was bored. Muarim was there too, looking frustrated. Tormod was happy, though. That's good... Right?

-oOo-

Several hours later, the sky lost its light. Because it was still summer, that meant it was getting pretty late. Everyone was tired from the march, so Ike decided we stop for the night. Our camp was nestled between the mountains east of us, and a forest west. According to some people, we were more than halfway to Tanas.

I was almost too tired to go and eat, but Mia dragged me along. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it filled me up. When I went back to our tent (Mia was _still_ bunking with me, despite there being more than enough tents), Mia dragged me out again.

Apparently, someone had set up a nice bonfire. As soon as Mia told me, I perked up. It had been _months_, probably over a year since we had a bonfire. ThroughGallia, Ike refused to put on a fire for anything, other than some coals for cooking, lest Daein spot us.

But in Begnion, we had nothing to fear. Daein wouldn't dare step foot here, unless they wanted to be completely obliterated by Mr. Stuffy and his Imperial Army.

A shame we didn't have marshmallows.

Several people were seated around the fire, and the atmosphere was actually rather boisterous. Not because of alcohol, though. Nobody was stupid enough to drink before a march and possible battle. But they were happy. My heart lifted and I couldn't help the smile stretching across my face as I sat, with Mia, on one of the logs around the fire.

The walk to the bonfire was a little chilly—I had wrapped a shawl around my shoulders—but it was nice here by the heat.

"What a pleasant way to end the day!" Mia sighed, her arms wrapped around herself as she leaned forward.

I nodded, loosening the shawl around me. It was still cool, but the fire helped. "It is nice." I looked around to see who else was here. Mordecai sat on the grass beside a log where, surprisingly, Lethe was seated. There weren't many laguz here, so I was surprised. Zihark sat near her, seemingly trying to start a conversation that Lethe wasn't all too interested in. Maybe Mia and my attempt to bring them together way back when had helped, even just a little.

Boyd and Gatrie were talking across the fire from me, with Oscar between them sighing and shaking his head. Not because of Boyd and Gatrie, though. Kieran was behind him. I don't know what the 'Crimean Royal Knight Fifth Platoon Commander' was saying. Not that I really cared. I was a little more worried as to how I _remembered_ the whole Fifth Platoon bit about him.

Marcia was here too. She was talking to Rolf, for whatever reason. And Mist. They were all laughing. Makalov sat nearby, sulking. I looked to my right, only to see green rush past me, and someone grab my arm as they turned to crouch behind me.

Raising an eyebrow, I looked back. Sothe was crouched there, looking out carefully between Mia and I. He was panting.

He didn't notice me staring at him, quite obviously expecting some sort of explanation.

"Sothe?" I asked, but he didn't look up. I moved to the side, widening the gap between Mia and I. That made him look. "Sothe, what are you doing?"

The thief frowned. Well, his frown became more prominent. He was always frowning. And then he shifted over so he was hiding behind me again, peaking out behind me every now and then. "It's Tormod. He won't leave me alone."

"How cute," I smirked and moved over again. Sothe huffed and shifted. "Do you not like him or something?"

"No."

I looked out over the fire. By some tents in the distance, I saw a flash of red. "I think I see him!" I moved over again, this time far enough to completely reveal the green haired boy.

Sothe glared at me, his lip twitching. "I hate you so much right now." And then he moved behind me again. "Stop moving, _please_. I'm begging you."

"100 gold."

There was rustling as Sothe got something out of his pocket. I grinned and looked back out over the fire. Turns out the red thing was Kieran stomping off. But I saw another bit of blue and green, presumably Muarim. Tormod couldn't be far behind. I held out a hand to Sothe, "Pay up if you want shelter."

What I got instead was a sharp poke in my side. I looked down to see Sothe had drawn his knife and had it to my back.

"You son of a—Ow!" I rubbed my side after he poked me again. I don't think it was hard enough to draw blood, but it hurt. I then slid down the log as far as I could go before bumping into someone. When I turned to see who it was, I saw Stefan sitting there, an eyebrow raised. I swallowed, "I'm, er... Sorry about that."

Stefan just kept the confused look as I slid back down to the other side where Mia _had_ been, but apparently left. I suppose I was boring.

Sothe knelt behind me, his knife still drawn. "Can you stay still now?"

I decided to turn completely around, accidentally knocking Sothe over when I swung my legs over the log. He held himself up with his hands and glowered. I grinned. "Tormod's a nice kid, isn't he? He just wants to be your friend. You're not being very nice."

Sothe rolled his eyes, "Sure, he's nice, but he's annoying. You have _no_ idea." He looked around cautiously before getting up, "I'm going to go find somewhere else to hide."

Before he had a chance to get away, I grabbed his arm and pulled him down onto the log beside me. "Relax Sothe. And cheer up." I turned back to the fire and pulled my shawl tighter. It was getting colder. Or was that Sothe? "If Tormod sees you, I'll be here, so you won't be alone."

"Oh, of course. _Double_ the annoying factor."

I stuck my tongue out at him. I could have sworn he smirked, even if for a second.

Silence followed after that. The both of us just sat and stared at the fire. That is until Sothe sat up straight, hands on his knees, and said, "Do you think we'll be going to Daein anytime soon?"

I turned and shrugged, "No idea." We were. After the stupid 4 part battle in the forest. "It would make sense if we did. I mean, we can't hide out in Begnion forever." And Ike believed that Ashnard was still in Daein. "There's no point to staying here. I would imagine that Ike wants to eventually go to the root of the problem, Ashnard." I crossed my arms again and looked over at him, "Why? You like Daein?"

Sothe stared out at the fire. "I'm from Daein."

Huh. I kind of remember that. I must have only read the endgame conversation between him and Ike once or twice. I forgot about where Sothe was from.

Wait, there was another conversation with him. When they were in Daein.

"Do you have friends there?"

Sothe turned his head and sighed. "Yeah. All my friends are in Nevassa, though. I mean, I hope they're still in Nevassa. I have no idea what's been happening back there... Daein's never been the most pleasant country to live in, I'll admit. But it's bearable."

I nodded, "It's cold, right?"

"In the winter. Our winters usually start early and refuse to let up until summer is coming. But it's okay. You get used to it. The summer's aren't as hot, though. I hate the heat, so it's okay."

"I know what you mean," I said, smiling, "Where I come from, it can get pretty cold. But we have nice summers..." I shut my mouth after that. The more I talk about 'where I come from', the more people want to know where that is.

Just as I was now expecting, Sothe asked the dreaded question: "Where are you from?"

Maybe I should have looked at Soren's fancy map, or gotten Sothe to steal it (which would result in a very angry Soren.) I needed to think of a safe spot in Tellius where I knew nobody had been or would go. Somewhere obscure.

By now, I had forgotten what the map looked like, or at least important locations. I tried to conjure up the image in my head. Somewhere in northern Crimea, maybe? It would explain how I got to the Greil Mercenaries so easily.

But Crimea wasn't obscure enough. I knew too many Crimeans.

I couldn't go west, to Gallia. No humans lived in Gallia, other than Ike's family a long time ago. But that was different.

How about east? Wasn't there a section of Begnion that was sort of cut off from the rest, just south of Daein? A shame I had no idea about names of places. And I didn't particularly like Begnion.

Maybe I could be from Daein, by the Crimean border... Nobody came from there that was a Daein. It seemed like a pretty safe area.

"Meia?"

I turned my head, biting the inside of my cheek. I had been so lost in my thoughts I forgot that Sothe had actually asked me a question.

He sighed and shook his head before turning to the fire, "Never mind."

Really? _Phew_. I got out of that one pretty easily. But at least now I knew that I needed to figure out where I could have come from.

"Sothe! I found you!"

We both turned to see Tormod running towards us. He stopped abruptly, right behind Sothe.

Sothe looked at me out of the corner of his eye, as if to say 'See what I mean?' I couldn't help but grin.

Tormod looked at me, "Are you another friend of Sothe's?"

I raised an eyebrow. Was I?

"No," Sothe said before I had a chance to respond.

I looked to him, sticking out my bottom lip, "I'm not?"

Apparently, Sothe didn't want to take the joke as I hoped he would. He was confused, if anything. "No. You pay me to steal stuff for you. That's it."

If that's the way things were going to be, I wasn't going to help him with his Tormod problem. Without a word, I got up and left the fire. I was tired, anyways, and I would need my energy for the march and battle tomorrow.

* * *

FE Frog: Don't expect an update soon. It's exam week. Not that I have to study profusely for many of them (English, French and Math. Can it get any easier?) I also have to use my time to get information on my exchange for next year... Which I need to have all set for March (my mom wants that to be the deadline of getting organized) so I'll be pretty busy.

Nevertheless, I WILL try! I'm already a good chunk into the next chapter. Yeah, I started it. It's just kind of boring at the beginning. Haven't gotten to the fight scene yet :(

ANYWAYS! I'll stop badgering you now. Maybe leave a review? It would be much appreciated.


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